Grasp of Obsidian
by Sanrii
Summary: Many centuries before the destruction of Domino, Darkar sets his sights on obtaining the Ultimate Power. If he can, it is said that all life in the universe will be end. Standing in his way? A girl named Alfea, and her fellow Guardian Fairies, who will have to overcome their demons, and learn to fight together, whilst trying to save a friend from a dark destiny.
1. Prologue: The Times We've Left Behind

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Winx Club. I do not profit from this work in any way, as it is only written for entertainment purposes.

* * *

**Summary: **Many centuries before the destruction of Domino, Darkar sets his sights on obtaining the Ultimate Power. If he can, it is said that all life in the universe will be end. Standing in his way? A girl named Alfea, and her fellow Guardian Fairies, who will have to overcome their demons, and learn to fight together, whilst trying to save a friend from a dark destiny.

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**Prologue: The Times We've Left Behind**

"No matter what date in history one may choose, a simple fact will always remain constant. There has always been, and there always will be, magic. A force beyond nature itself, timeless, ageless, and constantly defying what men might call impossible. Just as there has always been magic, there have been those who seek to utilize it. Just as there are always the battles they fight. Even before the universe was created, the metaphysical forces have been in conflict with one another, destined to war for eternity; for should one disappear, the other would disappear with it...

The previous era was a notable one. For the first time in history, the constant tale of good versus evil was not the story told to children, but the dominant legend, a bloody conflict, fought by a brave many, who sacrificed everything...

Those who fought had strong personal convictions they believed in, and gave their lives for. It is clear that the hero our school is named for fought for one such conviction, one we should all try to uphold. To do what is right."

- Excerpts from Headmistress Murlowa's speech, commemorating the opening of The Alfea College for Fairies.

* * *

A rather petite girl, with long, straight peach-blonde hair that curled up at the tips, fair skin, and fiery brown eyes was sitting at the base of a strong tree trunk, with a small box in her hands. The box was elegantly designed, and appeared to have been made of bright blue suede. With her, were two other girls, each holding an identical box. One girl had long mahogany red hair, lightly tanned skin, and pale blue eyes. The other had short black hair, green eyes, and light olive skin.

"Alfie... when can we open these?" The blonde girl asked, as she looked over to the black-haired girl.

"Right now," Alfea, the black-haired girl replied, with a wide smile on her face. The other two girls opened their boxes, and inside of each, there was a gold necklace. The mouths of the two girls were agape at the splendour.

"These are really something," The mahogany-haired girl said.

"I'm glad you like it Ekini," Alfea replied. "Mirsia, try yours on. I know your neck is smaller than mine, but I want to see if the size I asked for was too small."

The blonde haired girl, Mirsia, eagerly placed the necklace around her head, and slipped it on. "It's perfect!" She exclaimed. She lifted the trinket at the end of the chain up, and stared at it. It was a small golden heart, with a bright yellow jewel in the centre.

"Hey, mine's a dragon," the mahogany-haired girl, Ekini, remarked. The trinket was a flat serpentine dragon, with a red jewel for an eye. "Nice touch."

"And mine is a rainbow," Alfea said, as she showed the trinket off to the other girls. In the centre, there was a bright blue gem. "I got these custom-made, so there aren't any others in the entire universe. Don't lose them!"

"We won't," Mirsia said reassuringly.

"Good," Alfea said. "I got them because... I'm going away soon. I'll still be here on Magix, but I won't get to see you a lot."

"I'm going back to Domino in a while too," Ekini said bitterly. "I'll be back next year, but it's still miserable."

"I don't want us to forget about each other," Alfea said. "When we see these necklaces, we'll be able to remember." Tears began to fall from her eyes. The three girls pulled each other into a group hug, before saying their goodbyes.

While Ekini and Mirsia would meet again in but a short time, they would both have to wait longer, until the day they would be reunited with their third friend, Alfea.

* * *

**"Author's" notes: **

That's the beginning to this little prequel story. Sorry that this is so short, but the real first chapter will be longer. This is more of an introduction to the main characters. I apologize for any contradictions I may make to the original show (or have already made - three different dubs is really not helping). This takes place well over a thousand years before the beginning of the actual series, but far enough after the creation of the universe for there to be some relevant back story. Sadly going to have to use a lot of OCs, but if I can link something to the original series, I'll try.

I've sat on this too long, so I just bit the bullet and put it up. If you like, you can check out my DeviantArt page (the link is on my profile) and find a larger version of the cover, and some other character sketches I put up in the future. The reason? This story was originally going to be a fan comic, but I got lazy because black and white can be hard to read, and colouring became waaay too time consuming. Oh well.

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you liked it. Please feel free to leave your thoughts, comments and criticisms in the reviews so I can improve. :P


	2. Chapter 1: Dawn of a New War

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own the Winx Club, and I likely never will.

Thanks to flying scourge and EverlastingStorm for leaving me a review! Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

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**Chapter One: Dawn of a New War**

**Eight years later:**

"Hey!" Mirsia shouted. "Leave him alone!" She quickly ran into the alleyway, past two boys, and scooped up the baby rabbit that they had been trying to kill with a hand axe. "It'll be okay." She gently petted the terrified creature, helping it to calm down.

"Who is she?" One boy asked the other.

"I recognize her," the other said. "She's Mirsia, the seamstress."

"That rabbit ate our garden!" the other boy shouted.

"You already killed the poor thing's mother," Mirsia said. "Isn't that enough?"

"We worked hard for those vegetables!" The other boy said. "We need that rabbit to make up for what it took from us!"

"He's too small," Mirsia argued. She took a black bracelet off of her arm, and held it out to the boys. "If I give you this, will you leave him alone?"

"What's going on here?!" A commanding voice boomed. The two men turned around, and saw the fairy of the Dragon-flame standing before them. Ekini. "Answer me!"

"Nuh-Nothing!" One of the boys stammered. "We were just leaving!" He grabbed the arm of the other boy, and the two ran by Ekini, and fled around the corner of the alley. They poked their heads back around to see what Ekini would do. To their surprise, she helped the blonde girl back up on her feet.

"I'd never think people who were so different could spend so much time together," one of the boys whispered.

"Let's get out of here, before she chases us," the other boy said. The two ran off into the streets.

"You let yourself get pushed around too much," Ekini said. Mirsia bowed her head with a nervous smile on her face. She clumsily put the bracelet back around her wrist. "That bracelet is the last thing you have from your mom. You need to protect it, just like you protect Alfea's necklace."

Mirsia nodded. "I know." Her voice was soft, barely audible. The rabbit gently nuzzled her finger.

"You need to be more assertive," Ekini said. "But, I'm really here because I need to ask for a favour."

* * *

"Ekini, where are you going?" Mirsia asked. She was sitting on a cot, playing with the rabbit as she watched Ekini pack a bag with clothes.

"I've been summoned," Ekini replied, as she tied her hair up. Ekini was wearing a restrictive garment, a red hood-less robe with long sleeves. "I'm going to a meeting in Magix city. I'll probably be there for a few days."

"Can I come?" the blonde girl asked.

"Sorry." Ekini frowned. "It's for Guardian Fairies only."

"Oh. Will Alfie be there?"

The Mahogany-haired girl hesitated. "I think so..."

"Can you tell her to visit sometime?"

"She's been busy lately."

"Too busy to visit her friends?"

Ekini finished packing her bag, and shut it tightly. "I'll try, Mirsia." The two made their way out of the bedroom, and into the living room, right outside of the door. Ekini handed Mirsia a key, with a bright blue rabbit's foot attached to the chain. "I'm counting on you to look after the place, okay?" The place in question, was a simple bungalow on planet Magix, away from the city, within a small village. The walls and the ceiling were painted a light blue, and there was little to be found inside, other than some comfortable furniture, a few potted plants, and Ekini's rather large wardrobe. Nearby was lake Roccaluce, where Ekini was trained by her teacher, the previous Nymph of Magix.

Mirsia nodded energetically. "I will."

"Remember to water the plants, and keep Tufi fed." Ekini pointed to a chubby rodent inside of a cage, who was sniffing wood chips. "He eats a lot of hay, and it's really easy to get." She moved over to the cage, and stroked the rodent with her finger. The furry little creature cooed happily. "Just don't let him out, because he'll chew on everything."

Mirsia nodded once again. "Of course!"

Ekini rested her arms on Mirsia's shoulders. "I trust you. Now, it's about time for me to leave." The two girls stepped out of the house, and Mirsia locked the door with her key. The village itself was small**—**with a population of less than a thousand people**—**but cozy and plentiful. Those who lived there were blessed with bountiful crops, and long lives. The locals often attributed it to having the blessing of the Great Dragon, given their close proximity to Lake Roccaluce, and that often, a guardian of the Dragon-flame lived with them. Ekini focused all of her magic, as her body began to glow, in red, blue and yellow. She yelled out as her form was changed, and large wings sprouted out of her back. Her hair untied itself, and became long and free. Her body was She had changed into a fairy. An Enchantix fairy. She flew off of the ground and turned back to look at Mirsia. "Bye everyone!"

"Come back soon!" Mirsia yelled back. The other residents of the village waved goodbye to their protector, as she zoomed off into the distance, towards the grand city of Magix.

* * *

Magix City was an impressive size, and was easy to get lost in, especially for foreigners. The buildings stood taller than anywhere else in the magical universe, except for maybe the cities of the planet Zenith. The city was always bustling with the noise of meetings, of both business and pleasure. The skies were crowded with vehicles and people, fairies, witches and wizards. Below, those weak in the blessings of magic had the misfortune of walking through the labyrinthine streets. Ekini's destination was right in the heart of the great city, a large , which had emanated powerful magical energy. The castle was surrounded on all sides by a wide stretch of grass and trees, which had helped to isolate the structure from the busy din of the rest of the city. The castle was a simple and round structure, with several spires, built in an earlier age. It was the point from which the rest of the city spread from. As one moved further away from the castle, the architecture of other buildings would become younger and younger, like the rings of a tree stump.

Ekini had quickly darted off to the castle, carefully avoiding those in her way, many of which who stopped to stare at her, surprised to see a princess of Domino in the flesh. _I'm not late yet, _She thought. As she approached the structure, she began to feel something... familiar. She smiled to herself knowingly. _So, she did show up after all... _The Dragon-flame fairy touched down by the large wooden gates of the castle, which had been left open. In the entry, there was an old woman in heavy robes, welcoming the numerous fairies into the castle. Ekini changed back into her normal form, and joined the line up with the other fairies, who had all been dressed in the restricting red robes. The line moved quickly, and soon enough, Ekini was at the front.

"Ah yes, I recognize you," the old woman said. "You are Ekini correct? The keeper of the mighty Dragon-flame?"

Ekini nodded and blushed slightly. "That's right."

"Welcome. Just follow the signs posted to the conversation hall." Ekini thanked the old woman, as she walked into the castle. The walls were made of a smooth, grey stone, and the floor was covered by a carpet which was incapable of wrinkling. A man dressed in a fine suit took Ekini's bag, and gave her a key, with a tag attached. On the tag was written: 'Room 214.' There were several arrows posted on the walls, pointing the way through the several halls. Ekini followed them all past several other doors, and staircases, and after a few short minutes of walking, she had come across the conversation hall. The doors into the hall were wide open, and a small sign outside had an arrow pointing into the room, with an inscription which read: 'Welcome Guardian Fairies!'

Ekini began to walk into the room, when she was interrupted by a familiar voice. "What's wrong Eki? Too famous to recognize an old friend?"

Ekini gasped when she heard the voice, as she turned around to lay her eyes on its owner. "I can't believe it... Alfea?!" In front of her stood a girl in the same robes as her. She had black hair, down to her lower back, and long bangs which covered her green eyes slightly. Her skin was a healthy olive tone. And around her neck... a necklace with a rainbow shaped trinket. "No way!"

"It's me," Alfea said with a wide smile. The two fairies hugged each other tightly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think?" Ekini replied. "Eight years is a long time, considering we've been living on the same Realm."

"I've been busy," Alfea whined. "Being the guardian fairy of the busiest realm will do that to you."

"Mirsia misses you a lot. She asked me to try to get you to visit."

"I'll try."

"That's what I told her. I guess we should go in now." The two fairies stepped into the conversation hall, and both groaned aloud when they saw all of the seats close to the exit had been taken. The hall was a theatre-in-the-round, with seats all around a circular stage below. The two followed the stairs down to the only seats still available; in the front row. The old woman who had greeted them at the door stepped down to the stage. As the lights dimmed down, the walls of the halls suddenly became decorated like the night sky, dotted with stars, constellations, and galaxies. The muttering fairies fell quiet.

"Welcome, guardians of the Magical Dimension." The old woman said. She cleared her throat. "I am Litra, warden of Castle Magix. Don't worry, this will only take a few minutes." The crowd of fairies let out a sigh of joy. "You may be wondering why it is that you have been summoned here. The reason is simple, yet alarming. We've reason to believe that a great evil has awoken." A tense atmosphere filled the room, the fairies that had been bored and unfocused before had become alert and serious. "The Shadow-Phoenix. The antithesis of the Great Dragon." Ekini in particular had been the most disturbed by that last sentence. "And we have reason to believe that a small part of his power, has come to Magix. We don't know everything, but I would personally like to invite you all to stay with us the next few days, until we can be sure of the situation. If worst comes to worst, it could mean the beginning of a great conflict." The woman's face relaxed slightly. "I don't want for you all to be afraid, just alert. I ask that you don't stray from the protection of this castle." Alfea and Ekini looked at each other briefly. That was a rule they would be breaking.

* * *

Ekini and Alfea had walked to an old tree, not far from the castle. The tree was still rich with life, and had grown tall, tall enough to reach the roof of the castle's main structure, but not as tall as the spires.

"Remember this tree?" Ekini asked.

Alfea nodded. "This is where we met Mirsia for the first time, after we finished school. How long ago was that? We were ten right?"

"That's right. So it's been about twelve years." She knocked the bark of the tree. "And it's still here." Ekini's smile slowly changed into a frown.

"What's wrong?" Alfea touched Ekini's shoulder.

"I'm... scared." Ekini had been surprised by her own words. "I know what Litra was talking about. I've felt it... my opposite. But I didn't think it would be here. What happens if it finds the village? What'll happen to the people there? To Mirsia?"

"Don't worry," Alfea said reassuringly. "They'll be fine."

"But they're so close to Lake Roccaluce! What happens if the Shadow-Phoenix goes there looking for me?!"

"Typical Dominoan self importance." The harsh words came from a different girl. Alfea and Ekini turned to look at the source. Standing there was a girl with short, pale blonde hair, held up in a bun on the back of her head, and violet eyes. "You people always need to be the centre of attention, don't you?"

"Oh, it's you," Ekini said through gritted teeth. "Laskaurin of Solaria."

"Glad to see you still recognize me," the girl said. "But, you can call me Lask for short."

"What do you want?" Ekini asked testily.

"I wanted to see if you were as snobbish as ever. Looks like I was right." Ekini's hand curled up into a fist. "Who'd have thought a group of people could become so bloated and stupid because a big lizard crawled up and died on their planet?"

"You take that back," Ekini threatened. Her fist became a lit with flames.

"Or what?!"

Ekini raised her fist up, as Alfea tried to calm her down. "Don't do it," Alfea said softly.

"Or... **Divine flame!**" Ekini cried. She held her arm out, and opened her fist, as several streams of flame shot out her palm.

"**Solarian sunscreen!**" Lask quickly raised her arm into the air, and a wall of crystal light formed in front of her, blocking the fire. When Ekini's attack had ceased, she lowered her shield, and held a smug smirk on her face. "Is that all you've**—**Ack!" She cried out as a tiny stray blast of fire crashed into her shoulder, singed her robe, and knocked her down to the ground.

Ekini crossed her arms and smiled down at Lask. "Apology accepted." Lask rolled her eyes, and picked herself off of the ground, as she dusted off her robes.

"Alfea, why do you drag around this loser?" Lask asked. Ekini became defensive again, but Alfea merely smiled at the comment, knowing how Lask loved to bother the Dominoan girl.

"So, Lask," Alfea began, "Why'd you follow us out here?"

"Just to bug you a bit, I guess," Lask replied. "If I don't keep miss Domino's head small, who will?"

"Fair enough," Alfea chuckled. Ekini gave Alfea a look that shot daggers.

* * *

A man, wearing the most exquisite of garments with shoulder length black hair, swiftly ran for the gates of Magix castle. Water began to fall from his bold yellow eyes. He had been panting heavily, but did not slow his pace. He had stumbled slightly on the uneven stone path, but caught his balance, and continued to run. Whatever his purpose had been, he wouldn't let anything slow him down. As he caught a glimpse of the wall of the castle, he quickened his pace further, wanting to reach the gates as quickly as possible. As he ran, vivid golden wings took form on his back, and propelled him further, letting him run at superhuman speed. Where he travelled, he left a gold trail of light behind him, and the occasional golden feather. When the castle walls were within a few hundred metres, he leapt off of the ground and let his wings carry him, as he became a streak of light just above the ground, allowing him to reach the castle in mere seconds. When he landed on the ground, the wings vanished, and he knocked at the wooden gates, still panting heavily. Not much later, the gates were opened by Litra.

"Oh!" The old woman exclaimed, as she bowed respectfully to the man. "Paladin Lucius! Have you come for your armour? It has been fully repaired."

"Thank you," Lucius replied, "but that is not the only reason I've come here. I bring troubling news as well." Litra took notice of his breathlessness.

"Just take a minute to breathe, young man." Lucius nodded at her and smiled, as bent forward slightly, and rested his hands upon his knees. He took several deep breaths, until his breathing steadied. When his body had become calm, he stood up straight once more. "What is it you've come to tell me?"

"The witch mothers have resurfaced, and they've aligned with the Shadow-Phoenix."

Litra stepped back, as her face twisted in shock and worry. "How do you know this?"

"Pyros has been decimated."

* * *

"The sun's setting soon, Lask said. She pointed up at the ball of fire in the sky, which had begun to dip below the tips of the buildings on the horizon.

"Is the widdle sun fairy afwaid of the dark?" Ekini mocked, in a sing-song tone. Lask glared at Ekini, as she began to walk over to strangle the Dragon-flame fairy, but was stopped when she was interrupted by Alfea.

"Hey... have you noticed that the tree's gotten a lot taller?" Alfea asked, as she pointed up at the tree. Ekini and Lask turned to look at it. Their jaws fell slack with shock, when they saw that the tree had become hundreds of feet taller in the time they had been ignoring it.

"What the-" Lask began, but was cut off as she jumped away, narrowly avoiding being stabbed by something someone had thrown. She looked down at the ground, and saw a flower, with curvy silver petals, and a thorny stem, embedded into the ground. She touched the petals of the flower with a finger, and quickly drew back in pain, as the petal cut into her hand like a razor. Lask sucked the blood from her wound, and looked back up the bark of the tree.

"Only one fairy I know could do that," Alfea remarked. As the trio stared up the tree, they could see something rapidly approaching them from above, diving down to them. As the object drew closer, they could tell it was a girl. A fairy. The girl's body began to glow with energy, as her form changed. Large wings sprouted from her back, as her descent became slower, and slower. She glided down to the ground, and landed softly, and looked up at the trio. She had smooth tanned skin, amber eyes and blue-black hair, held up in a ponytail, with her fringe covering her right eye, and one of her silver flowers sticking out from her hair.

"You've got to be insane to have one of those there," Lask said, as she pointed at the flower.

"I finally found you insubordinates," the girl said.

"Sorry, I can't remember your name," Ekini said. She scratched her head.

The girl laughed. "That's okay."

"You're Kalina, right?" Alfea asked. "Guardian fairy of Linphea?"

The girl nodded. "That's it. I'm here to bring you back to the castle. The old lady has some important news for you."

The trio shared a glance and nodded, before they followed Kalina back to the castle.

* * *

"Hey, I found them!" Kalina yelled as the group entered the castle. Immediately, Litra came out from a nearby room to greet the girls.

"Welcome back girls," Litra said, but the look on her face remained serious. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Ekini swallowed a lump down her throat as her face began to flush, and her heart sunk. She had feared the worst. _I hope Mirsia's okay, _Ekini thought. Her eyes began to moisten, as her heart continued to pound in anticipation. Her throat was getting dry, and the seconds felt stretched into minutes, as she waited for the old woman to relay her message.

"There's been an attack," an unfamiliar voice said. It was a man's voice. The group of girls turned to the door which it came from, and saw Lucius standing there. He was wearing a suit of armour, which had been white as pearl, with golden trimming along the edges. His golden, glowing wings had taken form on his back, and were softly reflected by the shining surface of his armour.

"You're a paladin," Lask said; more of a statement than a question.

"That's right," he responded. "My name is Lucius, and I am a knight of the Order of Paladins. I've come here as a messenger. Pyros has fallen, and the mother witches have returned to the magical universe." He paused, and took a deep breath. "Worst of all, they're being aided by the Shadow-Phoenix... Darkar."

"I see," Ekini said. "So then he's not on Magix?"

"Not yet," Lucius said. Ekini let out a sigh of gratitude.

"Pyros has fallen?" Alfea reaffirmed. Lucius nodded. "What's on Pyros other than a few dragons and small villages?"

"Darkar is looking for something," Lucius said sternly. "And I think he's looking for the Dragon-flame."

Ekini gasped in fear. "But then... that will lead him... here..."

"I don't want to frighten you, but he may already be on his way." Lucius bowed his head. "I would like to stay, but I'm going to fly around Magix, and try to find any trace of Darkar. Stay safe, all of you." He made his way out of the front gate, and flew up into the dark sky.

"I'm going to help him," Kalina said. She ran out, and flew after Lucius, following the light he had left in his wake.

"I didn't know they had a thing going on," Lask remarked.

"They're siblings!" Alfea yelled. She had a look of disgust on her face.

"Sorry! I didn't know!" Lask said apologetically. Whether she was sorry for putting the disturbing mental image into Alfea's head or for putting it into her own head was anyone's guess. "I've heard that sort of thing happens on Earth a lot..." Alfea's eye began to twitch.

"Earth is backwards, so who cares what they do there," Alfea said dismissively.

"How do you know they're related?" Ekini asked accusingly.

"Well..." Alfea began to flush slightly. She began to poke the tips of her fingers together. "Lucius is stationed here on Magix for his order... and I've talked to him a few times, and he told me Kalina was his sister!"

"And why were you talking to him?" Ekini asked, continuing her interrogation.

"He's here to guard Magix, and I'm a guardian fairy, so we've met up a few times." Alfea had a longing smile on her face.

"You like him, don't you?" Lask teased.

"I do not!" Alfea yelled. Her face became an even darker shade of red. "I just met with him a few times, that's all!"

Lask and Ekini shared dubious looks with each other, before they began to stare back at Alfea. "You like him." Ekini said bluntly.

"Has he tried courting you yet?" Lask asked.

"I told you, we're just friends!" Alfea said defensively. "We're not even that. We're just... co-workers!"

"Yeah, sure." Ekini said sarcastically. "And Solarians get along well with Satellians." She looked over at Lask. "No offence."

Lask shrugged. "None taken."

"So what are we going to do now?" Alfea asked, changing the subject.

"I'd suggest you get some rest," Litra said, before she yawned. "I know that's what I'll be doing." She walked back to her quarters.

"What do you think?" Alfea asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Lask shot back. "The sun just went down."

"Should we visit Mirsia?" Ekini asked.

"She's probably tired," Alfea responded. The three girls continued to speak to each other as they walked out of the castle.

"You're gonna have to suggest someplace," Lask said. "I'm not exactly accustomed to Magix."

"Nothing's open right now," Ekini said.

"Magix is a pretty clean place," Alfea said. "It's busy, and big, but there's not a lot to do when the sun goes down. Regulations are pretty tight."

Lask snorted. "And you complain that you've got the toughest job. Though I suppose it's harder than what miss Nymph of Magix here does." She pointed at Ekini.

"And what do you mean by that?!" Ekini yelled.

"What do you do exactly? Lask asked. "Sit in front of a lake all day? Sounds easy to me."

"I'm the Guardian Fairy of Domino too, you know!" Ekini cried.

"The Guardian Fairy of the most sterile realm in the universe," Lask said. "Sounds real hard. Try being the Guardian Fairy of a shitty place like Solaria and see how much work that is, why don't you?"

"Solaria's not that bad," Alfea said.

"Says you!" Lask retaliated. "Have you ever even been there before? There's no rain! It sucks! The fat ass royals don't do anything except hold princess balls and birthday parties! We peasants hold the economy together! Crime everywhere, and the royals don't care. Because they don't care, the police don't care. Who's left to care?" Alfea and Ekini looked at each other and shrugged. "Me-e-e!"

"Wow, I guess I know why you're so irritable now," Ekini said mockingly.

"You shut up," Lask said bluntly.

"Hey, what's that?" Alfea asked, as she pointed up into the night sky. A blue meteor was tumbling past the stars, and seemed to be coming closer and closer to the surface of the planet.

"Look's like it's gonna hit us," Lask said. She rubbed her eyes and looked back to the meteor.

"It's really small though," Ekini remarked. The spark of light crashed into the planet, and gently shook the world itself. "Let's go check it out."

* * *

**"Author's" Notes: **Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Chapter length will vary greatly from here on out, but nothing will be as short as the Prologue. There will be less introductions in such rapid succession in the future. Rest assured, I'm not going to clone the Winx Club and stick them in the B.C.E.. I'll be damned if I let the "main team" consist of Fairies from Domino, Solaria, Linphea, Andros, Melody and Zenith (or Earth for that matter). That said, I don't want to make up too many realms, so I'm going to have to make do with what the show does give us.

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you liked it. Please feel free to leave me a review with your thoughts, comments and criticisms! :D


	3. Chapter 2: Fairy of Outer Space

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Winx Club, because it's too busy being owned by Iginio Straffi.

Thanks to flying scourge for leaving me a review! Sorry this took so long to publish.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Fairy of Outer Space**

Alfea, Ekini, and Lask had all transformed into their fairy forms and flew towards the crash site of the meteor. Their outfits sparkled under the lights of the night. After a short flight, they had come upon a smoking crater, where the celestial object had collided with the planet. In the core of the pit, there was a girl crouching there, completely still.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Ekini yelled. The three fairies landed on the ground, surrounding the crater. They all bent forward to look in, as the girl slowly stood up. She appeared to be a fairy; albeit a young one. Her outfit was remarkable similar to the ones they had worn, though completely black, sparkling like the night sky. Her hair was sea-foam blue, and long and wavy, flowing gently in the breeze. As her gaze lifted, the fairies could see more of her features. Her skin was extremely pale, almost as if she had lived her entire life without sunlight. Her wings were pointed at the tips. When her head was finally raised, she opened her eyes, and they were a piercing yellow, with thin cat-like pupils.

"What happened?" Alfea asked. The girl glared at the three fairies surrounding her, before she jumped out of the crater, and threw several spells at the other fairies.

"What the hell?!" Lask cried as she somersaulted out of the way.

"You!" The girl cried out. She pointed right at Ekini.

"Me?" Ekini asked, as she pointed to herself. "I did something to you?" Lask and Ekini readied their battle stances, as Alfea raised her arms up, and began to quietly chant a spell.

"I'm here to bring you to my master..." the girl said. "Alive or otherwise!" She thrust her right hand forward, as it began to glow cyan. "**Comet streak!**" A large blast of energy shot out at Ekini, who took a step back, in preparation to dodge.

"**Solarian sunscreen!**" Lask cried, as the translucent wall of light formed before Ekini.

The Dragon-flame fairy smirked over to her ally, as she raised her own hands forward. "**Divine flame!**" Multiple streams of orange flame shot out towards the mysterious attacker, setting the grass below on fire.

Alfea finished her chant and added her own spell to the mix. "**Spectral intensification!**" The wall of light shielding the group began to glow more brilliantly, and the flames erupting from Ekini's palm changed to a vivid tone of blueish-purple. The mysterious girl's comet spell bounced off of the light wall, but the impact was still heavy enough to cause the Solarian fairy to fall to her knees from the shock wave. The stranger raised her arms to shield herself from the purple flames, and encased herself in a shell of black energy. The blast collided with her shield and knocked her away, but she was otherwise unharmed.

"She's pretty tough," Ekini remarked.

"It's a bit weird," Lask said, as she picked herself off of the ground. "She's a lot stronger than she should be."

"Maybe we should step it up," Alfea suggested. The other fairies nodded at her, before they raised their arms into the air simultaneously.

"Enchantix!" they cried in unison. Each girl was engulfed in a brilliant light, intense enough to force the attacking stranger to shut her eyes and turn away. When the light finally subsided, the three girls had changed dramatically. Each of their wings had become significantly larger, and more elegant, like the wings of butterflies. Their outfits had changed with them, as their dresses reached down below their knees, each with multiple frills and layers. Lask's dress was mostly yellow and blue, with a much more rugged in appearance than those of the other two girls, having a more practical design with less extravagance. Alfea's dress was silver and white, complimented with long ribbons tied around her wrists and ankles.

"Do you want to give up?!" Ekini asked calmly. The strange girl merely erupted into laughter, as if she had gone completely insane.

"You couldn't beat me in a million years!" She exclaimed madly. She began to fire spells wildly at the trio, with little care for the direction they flew in. The three girls flew up into the air and spread out.

"We can't afford to hold anything back. All at once!" Ekini ordered. "**Enchantix firestorm!**" Flames began to dance within the palms of her hand.

"**Blazing desert sun!**" Light jutted forth from Lask's hands, turning the grass it touched brown with thirst.

"**Spectral wave!**" White energy floated around the ribbons on Alfea's outfit, which moved through the air – fighting against the wind – to point at the girl below. Each of the three girls shot their spells off at the same time. The spells collided in the air and merged into one intense burst of magic, which shot straight down at the girl below, and exploded. The range of the blast was grand enough to be seen even from the city of Magix. Trees had been felled, grass had been sheared, and rocks were disintegrated. The girl below them had fallen to the ground. The trio flew down to her side, and looked closer. There was a trail of blood coming from her mouth, and her skin had become a much healthier tone. She twitched slightly as she sat up, and sprayed spells at the girls around her.

"She's still fighting?" Lask asked incredulously. The three girls prepared themselves to fight back once more, when suddenly, another streak of light - this one gold - fell from the sky and crashed in front of them. When the dust settled, they could see that it was Paladin Lucius.

"You've done well so far," he said to them. "Fairies of Darkar can be incredibly dangerous." The unidentified girl growled angrily at him, baring her sharpened fangs. "I'll take care of this from here."

"Who says we need your help?!" Lask asked indignantly.

"You don't need my help," Lucius chuckled. He pointed at the girl. "She does." He waved his arms through the air, as his hands began to glow with heavenly light. "This will end it. **Incantamentum tenebris desino!**" A burst of light with the intensity of a star shot out of his palms, and collided with the girl. She cried out as her body was engulfed in light, causing a black mist to rise out from her. The mist floated in the air momentarily, before being consumed by the light. The girl's fairy form disappeared, and she changed, no longer a transformed fairy, wearing a dusty and blood-stained peasant's dress. Lucius walked over to the unconscious girl and carefully picked her up. He nodded at the trio of girls. "Good work. But was it necessary to destroy the entire valley?" The three girls flushed in embarrassment, with Alfea being the deepest shade of crimson. He shrugged. "No one really lives here I guess..."

"Where's Kalina?" Alfea asked.

"I've told you how she is before," Lucius replied. "She's probably by herself somewhere."

"We could take care of that girl for you," Ekini offered. "She's a fairy, so we could take her back to Castle Magix."

"That would work," he said. He walked over to the girls, and handed the younger girl to Ekini. "I've got to report back to Master Malacoy."

"Who?" Ekini asked.

"Master Malacoy," Lucius repeated. "Ex-head of the order of Paladins. He runs the new Paladin academy. Have you heard of it?" Each of the girls shook their heads. "It's not important. I'll be back tomorrow." He flew up into the sky and vanished into the night.

"He sure moves fast despite all that armour," Lask said.

"That's just how he is," Alfea replied dreamily.

"You like him," Lask teased.

"I told you, he's just a co-worker!" Alfea yelled back.

"Can we go?" Ekini asked with a grunt. "This girl's heavier than she looks."

* * *

The girls had flown back to Magix Castle, taking turns carrying the surprisingly heavy girl. When they had finally arrived, they put her down in Alfea's cot in the guest quarters. Alfea lived in Magix city, and as such, she had no need for a guest room. After a few hours, the girl began to stir in the bed, as the trio looked down upon her with curiosity. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, as she stared above at the three girls looking down upon her. Her eyes were no longer the yellow with cat pupils, but had become a pale grey. She laid there for a few seconds, before suddenly springing up, as if she had remembered something important.

"Where am I? What's going on? Where is..." She spoke in rapid succession.

"Shhh... Calm down," Alfea said soothingly. "You're safe now."

"What's going on?!" She looked around the room, staring at each spot on the wall.

"You're in Magix Castle," Ekini said.

"Magix?!" the girl exclaimed. "How can I be... Where's my mom and dad?"

"You don't remember anything that's happened in the last few hours?" Alfea asked. "Let's start with something simple. What's your name?"

"I'm Ketu," the girl said. She had been shaking nervously.

"Do you remember landing here and attacking us?!" Lask added.

"I attacked you?" Ketu looked over the three girls. "Why would I attack you?! You're guardian fairies!"

"Well, what can you remember before you came here?" Alfea asked. She rested her hand on the girls shoulder, and knelt to the ground, so she and Ketu would be at an even height.

"I-I... My comet was attacked..."

"Your comet?" Lask asked with confusion.

"That's right." Ketu continued. Her breath became shaky, and panicked. "We were passing above Pyros, and we saw it was... burning."

Ekini, Lask and Alfea shared a cautious glance with each other. Lucius had told them Pyros had been attacked earlier. "What then?" Ekini asked.

"Then..." Ketu pulled at the roots of her hair with both of her hands. "He came after us! My mom and dad, and everyone else living on the comet." She paused as her eyes welled up with tears. She let out a shaky gasp. "They're... dead." She looked at Alfea with eyes that contained fear and dread. "He killed them, and then he came after me! I-I thought he would kill me too. He shot a spell at me, and everything went dark."

"It must have been his control spell," Lask said, pity thick in her voice. "Will you be okay?"

Ketu nodded. "I think I just need some time alone," she said, as tears began to spill from her eyes. The three girls nodded as they walked out of the room and shut the door. They could hear the young girl begin sobbing as soon as they left.

"If she was sent here, then it could mean that he's coming here soon," Alfea said.

"It could be," Ekini said. She placed her hand on her chest. "And yet, I feel like he's here already."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Lask asked. "You are his opposite after all."

Ekini nodded. "I'm worried about Mirsia."

"Should we bring her here?" Alfea asked. "I'd like to see her again too."

"Who is this Mirsia exactly?" Lask questioned. "You talk about her a lot."

"She's our friend," Ekini replied. "We've known her since we were small. She doesn't have a lot of magic though."

"Okay then," Lask said. "Maybe we should go visit her then." The three fairies leapt out of the nearby window, and flew out into the sky, towards Lake Roccaluce.

* * *

Mirsia was sitting on the grass outside of Ekini's house, finished with her chores for the day. She had been extra careful with watering Ekini's plants and feeding her guinea pig, Tufi. For a little creature that didn't do anything all day, he sure seemed to be content with his life. She let her long blonde hair flow in the strong breeze, savouring the cool kiss of the wind on her skin. She stared up into the night sky, and saw a shooting star. _I wish I could be a fairy, _she thought. _Will you make my dream come true?_ To her surprise, the shooting star seemed to be approaching the planet itself. It was drawing closer and closer. _It's gonna hit us! _She braced herself for the impact, fearing that the planet would be completely destroyed, just like in the stories told about other realms, where meteors had caused mass extinctions. There was an audible boom as the star collided with the planet, shaking the realm momentarily, but the quake ended just as quickly as it had begun. Mirsia removed her arms from above her head, and left her fetal position crouch. She let out a sigh, and looked back up into the sky.

_Help us, won't you? _A voice asked her in her head. The rather sultry voice sounded like it had belonged to a young woman.

"Who's there?!" Mirsia shouted, wondering if someone was playing a prank on her.

_We need help. Your help,_ another voice continued. _Follow my voice._ Mirsia tried to ignore the command, but the voice continued to echo within the walls of her mind, threatening to drive her insane. Eventually, she gave in to the demands of the voice, and followed the sounds out of the village, led by her instincts. Despite how far away the voice had seemed, she continued her walk, not at all exhausted, despite walking for hours. Something had compelled her to keep going. She had walked so far that the green grass had disappeared, replaced by harsh sand and sharp rock. Still the voice called for her, drawing her closer. Mirsia walked as if her soul had been stolen, and her mind had been empty, she paid little attention to her surroundings, even as she began to descend into a cave, and had begun to travel into the dangerous subterranean level of Magix.

_You're nearly there, _a third voice said. She ignored the creatures of the dark, and was in turn, ignored by them. She continued her walk, until she stood face to face with a fortress, made of pitch black rock, which reflected no light. It had seemed as if it was unfinished, and slowly piecing itself together, all while burrowing deeper into the planet. Fearlessly, Mirsia continued her walk, into the fortress. The walls were lit with torches, and there was only one path which did not lead into darkness. She followed the lights through the maze-like corridors. Her heart had pounded heavily, with both excitement, and dread. Her expression remained completely flat, though her legs had moved as if her body were a puppet, being controlled by some unseen force. When she passed by the final light, she had entered into what had seemed to be a grand throne room. On that throne, she saw a man, in a suit of black armour, and a long, flowing black cloak behind him. His glowing red eyes stared into Mirsia's own, and suddenly, her emotions returned to her, in a single rush.

Mirsia gasped loudly and fell back, before she began to try and crawl away from the menacing figure. Her heart began to pound painfully against her chest, as she felt all of her limbs go numb. The man stood up from his throne and began to laugh cruelly.

"I find it difficult to believe that you, are the one I've been looking for," he said. "Your soul is as pure as a cloud spirit's. But excuse my discourtesy, I haven't even introduced myself yet." He walked over to Mirsia, and helped her to stand back up. "I've been called many things, by many people, in many places. But you may call me... Phoenix." Mirsia gulped loudly. Despite the man's calm demeanour, he was still incredibly threatening. "I have a gift for you." He opened his hand, and in his black gauntlet, he held a ring, made of black rock, lustrous and shimmering. He lifted up Mirsia's right arm, and slipped the ring on her finger. To her surprise, it had matched perfectly with the bracelet her mother had given her. Both were made of the same black glass. "Perfect. Soon the time will be right, and your wish... shall be granted." Mirsia reached out to him, but her head was trapped within a foggy haze. The world began to spin, and blur. Before she could utter a single word, she had fallen asleep.

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:** Well, it would appear that this man has something in store for the sweet little Mirsia. I have discovered that I hate describing fairy forms. Gets too flowery.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you feel like it. :D


	4. Chapter 3: Fairy of Life and Death

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Winx.

Thank you very much for the reviews flying scourge! It helps to keep me going. I must admit, that half of the reason I wrote this is frustration at how easily Darkar was beaten in the series.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Fairy of Life and Death  
**

"Hey, Mirsia?!" Ekini yelled. Ekini, Alfea and Lask stood inside of Ekini's bungalow, where things had appeared to be in order. No one had answered when they knocked on the door to Mirsia's house, right next door, and it had appeared that the girl hadn't been inside of Ekini's home either. "Where is she?" Ekini walked into her house, and caught a glimpse of Tufi, sleeping peacefully in his cage. "Mirsia?" She opened the doors to the few other rooms and peered inside, but the girl was nowhere to be found.

"Mirsia?!" Alfea called. "I finally came to visit!"

"I'm getting worried," Ekini said. "She's normally at home at this hour." She ran her hands through her hair. The three girls stepped out of the house, and locked the door. "Oh... where could she be?"

"She's probably fine," Lask said. "Maybe she's just doing some last-minute shopping, or helping someone."

"I hope so," Alfea said. A shadow passed above the three girls, turning their gaze upward. Above them, there were three other women, who were slowly descending. In their arms, they held onto a sleeping girl... Mirsia.

"Is she okay?!" Ekini cried, as she ran over to the three women. The three turned their faces to the Ekini. They were absolutely gorgeous. All of them had perfect features, in all the right places. They were all the same fair skin tone. One possessed a frizzy and messy midnight black hairstyle, but she managed to make it work for her, and it almost even complimented her ocean-blue eyes. Another had long strawberry-blonde hair, which fell down the sides of her face, matching her cute, pale, almost white eyes. The third had long purple hair, with several bangs falling in front of her face, which gave her an air of exotic mystery, perfectly augmenting her yellow eyes, which almost seemed to glow in the dark.

"Is this girl a friend of yours?" the strawberry-blonde asked. Her voice had a very sultry tone. Ekini nodded. "She'll be okay. She just needs to rest."

"We found her outside of the town," the frizzy-haired one said.

"We think she collapsed from exhaustion," The purple-haired one finished.

"She lives in this house right here," Ekini said. She pointed to the small house right next to her own. Ekini picked up a plant pot from the windowsill, and pulled the fake flower inside out of the pot, and dug out a key. With the key she opened the door, and let the three women into the house. They carried her to her bedroom, and gently laid her down on her mattress.

"Thank you so much for bringing her here," Alfea said.

"How'd you know to where to go?" Lask asked. "This town isn't big, but it's big enough."

"She was able to tell us, before she fell unconscious," the strawberry-blonde explained.

"What are your names?" Ekini asked. "I'd like to know, so I can thank you properly."

"I am Bourlivy," the frizzy-haired one replied.

"My name is Ledovy," the strawberry-blonde said. She had a friendly smile on her face.

"They call me Temny," the purple-haired one said, as she pushed a silky strand of hair out of her face.

"Can we get you anything at all?" Alfea asked. "Some tea, perhaps?"

The three women shared a glance with each other. "That would be lovely," Ledovy replied.

* * *

The six returned to Ekini's house, where they sat the three women on the couch in her living room. Lask, Alfea and Ekini all sat on harder wooden chairs taken from Ekini's kitchen.

"This tea is perfect," Temny complimented. She carefully sipped at the steaming liquid.

"Thank you," Ekini replied. "It's an old Dominoan recipe."

"These pastries are rather exquisite as well," Ledovy added, as she took a bite from the biscuit in her left hand. "Are they an old Dominoan recipe as well?"

"No, that's an old Magix recipe," Ekini giggled.

"I don't even like tea, and I like it," Bourlivy said. She raised her eyebrows up and down.

"You're too kind," Ekini said.

"So," Alfea began, "are you all witches?"

The three women shared a chary glance. "Yes," Ledovy said. "I understand that the three of you are fairies. We'll leave if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No!" Alfea protested. "Not at all!"

"We've got no problem with anyone who has a kind heart," Ekini added. "Right, Laskaurin?" Ekini practically spoke from the corner of her mouth.

"Hmm?" Lask grunted, as she sipped some of her tea. Ekini sharply nudged her in the arm, almost making her spill the piping hot liquid on herself. "Oh, right, of course!" Lask scowled at Ekini.

"It's rare to meet fairies so tolerant of witches," Bourlivy said.

"It's a shame," Alfea said. "If fairies and witches worked together, we'd be able to accomplish so much."

"To be fair, it's difficult to find witches who are helpful to each other, let alone fairies!" Temny said, with a slight giggle.

"So what do you three do?" Lask asked. "Do you work for Nimba?"

"You mean the crazy wretch who lives in that tower?" Temny asked back. "No way!"

"Have you seen that thing?" Ledovy asked. "It looks like it was designed to be as inconvenient as possible."

"What's the place's proper name again?" Ekini asked. She looked over to Alfea, expecting an answer.

"I think it's called Cloud Tower," Alfea said. "But I could be wrong."

"No, you got it," Bourlivy said, before she gulped down a mouthful of tea. "Cloud Tower. We're actually here on Magix to do some... studying."

"Studying... architecture and the like," Temny quickly added.

"Very impressive," Ekini said. "You must be ladies of many talents."

The three women laughed quietly at the praise. "I don't know if I'd go that far," Ledovy said. "Well, it's rather late, and we should get going now."

"Are you sure?" Ekini asked, as she collected their now empty glasses. "I've got more pastries if you're interested."

"We're sure," Temny said sweetly. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"I would like to help you with your dish washing, before we leave," Bourlivy added.

"Oh no," Ekini dissented. "You are my guests, I'll not have you do my housework."

"It's no problem," Bourlivy said. She snatched the dishes out of Ekini's hand and carried them to her draining board in the kitchen. In three quick motions, she summoned a small cloud to rinse the dishes, dipped them in the soapy water in Ekini's tub, rinsed them in with the cloud once more, and dried them with a small tornado. "There! See how easy that was?" She carefully placed the dishes into Ekini's cupboards.

"Thank you for everything," Temny said. The three witches bowed gracefully, before leaving Ekini's home, and flying off into the night.

"They were really nice," Alfea commented.

"Especially considering they were witches," Ekini added.

"Too nice," Lask said bitingly.

"What's wrong with you?" Ekini asked. "Can't you ever say anything nice about anyone?"

"No, not really," Lask said, with a smirk on her face.

"It's really late," Alfea said. She let out a quiet yawn. "We should probably get back to Castle Magix."

"It's too late for that," Ekini said. "We can all stay here for the night."

"But you've only got one mattress and once couch," Alfea said.

"I'll sleep on the floor," Lask said tiredly. "I'm used to it anyway."

"Sounds good to me," Ekini said. "Goodnight everybody!" She ran into her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

"Ekini!" Alfea yelled.

Ekini opened the door and walked back out. "What?"

"You're not really going to do that to a friend, are you?" Alfea asked.

"I was kind of planning on it. And who are you calling a friend exactly? Her?" She pointed at Lask, who was already lying down on the hard wood floor.

"I resent that," Lask said.

"Yes, her," Alfea said. "You know you don't really hate her."

"You're right," Ekini admitted. "I don't." She paused. "If I did, I'd let her sleep outside instead!" Alfea peered at her, slowly narrowing her eyes. "Oh alright. I'll sleep on the floor. Just... just... stop staring at me like that!" Alfea's expression changed to a cheery smile.

"I'm fine on the floor," Lask said.

"You will sleep on a bed, and you will like it!" Alfea screamed. Lask quickly stood up, walked into Ekini's room and threw herself onto Ekini's mattress. "That's better. Do you want the couch?"

"No, I'm okay on the floor," Ekini muttered. She lay down on the cold, unloving floor, and rested her head on her hands.

"Goodnight," Alfea said softly. She flopped onto the couch, and let herself drift off into the darkness of sleep.

* * *

In a secluded spot behind the Castle of Magix, the siblings Lucius and Kalina met with one another, to discuss things in relative privacy.

"Kalina, I've got a special job for you," Lucius said, as he handed his sister a wax-sealed envelope. "I know I can trust you."

Kalina opened the envelope, and scanned through the contents of the letter contained within. "Are you kidding me?" She asked.

"I'm proud of you," Lucius said. He rested his arms on her two shoulders. "I've been told among all fairies, you're one of the best."

"If by best, you mean dangerous, then sure," she replied, bitterly. She bit her lower lip. "Is this really something you need me to do? Or are you just helping your little sister find work?"

"Can't it be a bit of both?" Lucius chuckled. "I think you're the best person for the job."

"I don't know if I should be proud, or insulted."

"Be proud. I've got important work to do. And to add on to that, I got a message from... an old friend, who will be coming to help us soon."

"Fine then." Kalina flew off into the sky, towards the outskirts of Magix City. She scanned over the contents of the message once more.

'Master Lucius, I humbly request an escort for my daughter.

From the Western Gate, I ask that you bring her to Magix Castle in safety.

When my daughter is safely escorted, you will be paid handsomely.

Thank you in advance, from: King Yakuv of Delona.'

Kalina tore the message up in her hand and threw the scraps into the wind. _Why doesn't she just wait until morning if she really needs escorting? _Kalina thought. _Unless she's hiding something, of course._ Kalina had recognized the father's name, and was able to remember the name of his daughter, a pretty girl named Agatha. She was the Guardian Fairy of Delona, and was one of the few who was absent from the meeting earlier. _What use is there in a Guardian Fairy escorting another Guardian Fairy?_

Eventually, Kalina landed next to the stone walls of the western gate, leading into Magix City. Leaning against the wall, there was a small girl, wearing a robe, with her face hidden behind scarves. With her, were a score of armed soldiers.

"Hey," Kalina began, "Are you Agatha?"

"Quiet!" The girl snapped. She ran up to Kalina and began to whisper in the other girl's ear. "Yes. Don't speak too loudly."

"What's the trouble?" Kalina whispered back.

"I was on my way to the meeting, but I stopped over Pyros, when I saw it was burning!"

Kalina's eyes widened. "So you were a witness to what happened?"

Agatha nodded. "That's right, and I saw the faces of the mother witches!"

"So that's why you need escort now?"

"Yes. Not to offend, but are you really the only person they could send?"

"As you can see," Kalina said, "I'm not a Paladin. They've been quite busy as of late, and it was to them your father sent the request. I was the only fairy who was prepared to take the job."

"But, my father sent the message to Sir Lucius specifically," Agatha said. "Was he busy?"

"Lucius is... preoccupied at the moment."

"Then we'll just have to make do." Agatha turned to the regiment. "It's time for us to go!" she ordered. "The witches have been sending assassins after me. Cultists who are loyal to the Shadow-Phoenix."

"I'll take care of you," Kalina swore. She held her right arm up to her chest, as if she were declaring an oath.

The soldiers surrounded their princess, and began to march with her, down the streets of Magix. Kalina kept an alert eye open at all times. She carefully scanned over the surrounding buildings and alleyways, making sure to take an extra glance if she caught even the tiniest glimpse of movement. The light from the moon casting upon the world seemed to be conspiring against the group, playing tricks with the shadows, creating figures where there were none, and hiding the ones that there could have been.

The escort travelled slowly, but the speed was necessary to take all required precautions. The Delonian princess had transformed herself, letting her face become exposed to the world around her. She had long caramel-brown hair, and deep brown eyes. She was a very cute girl, with a kind, almost naive face, but she soured her face with her fear. Her mouth was curled into an ever-present frown, and appeared to be exhausted, with bags developing under her eyes. Evidently, she'd been unable to sleep peacefully for quite some time.

"We're half of the way to Magix Castle," one of the guards announced.

"Good," Agatha responded. "Let's quicken our pace a bit."

"I'm not so sure that would be the wisest choice, your highness," Kalina said. "We may be closer, but the streets are older, and more concealed. The light from the moon isn't helping matters much either."

"The escort fairy speaks truthfully, your highness." A different guard said. "It would be best if we–" He was cut off when his chest was pierced by a black arrow.

"We're under attack!" Kalina shouted.

"Men, shield-dome!" The captain ordered. The guards linked their shields together, forming a protective shell around the Delonian princess.

"You can't hide from me!" Kalina exclaimed. She managed to twirl out of the path of a thrown dagger, and threw one of her silver flowers at the attacker. Her eye caught a glimpse of shadowy figure being knocked over by the shimmering twinkle of the flower. Several other assassins made their presences known, when they began to fire upon the shield shell from all angles. Several arrows dug into the shields of the guards, and several others ricocheted off, and broke into the windows of the nearby structures. Kalina threw her flowers at every spot she could see an arrow fly from, and had managed to pierce the hearts of several attackers. As she became more and more dangerous to them, their target changed from Agatha of Delona, to Kalina of Linphea. Soon enough, the only arrows which whizzed through the air were aimed at the flower fairy, who had been forced onto the defensive. She was able to keep herself unharmed with a combination of magic and fancy footwork, as she danced out of the paths of the arrows, and deflected others with the razor sharp petals of her flowers.

Kalina was doing well so far, but she knew she wouldn't be capable of maintaining a high standard of defence forever. Sooner or later, she would make a mistake, and pay the price. The only way out was risky, but if the alternative was dying anyway, then she figured she'd might as well go down fighting. She flew up into the air, still avoiding the onslaught of black arrows, as she threw dozens of her flowers into the air, creating a shield around her. As the arrows knocked into them, the thorny stems detached from the petals, and formed a second shield, under the layer of silver petals. When there were thousands of petals in the air, she took a deep breath in, and it had seemed as if time itself had stopped. The world had slowed, as she could clearly see every arrow being fired at her, and every assailant hidden in the cover of the night. She grinned to herself, relishing the moment... the excitement. Soon the exhale would come.

"Now you'll see why they call me the fairy of life... and death!" She quickly spun around, and fanned the petals with her arm, as the thousands of silver blades began to twist and shimmer in the pale light of the moon. The silver petals flew out in every direction, tearing through anything in their path. The would-be assassins suddenly found themselves the victims of the night, as the petals ripped through their bodies, slicing through the soft flesh, cartilage and bone alike; filling the streets with the colour and scent of blood, raining from rooftops. Those that survived the culling tried to flee for their lives, limping off to safety. Kalina caught a glance of the running killers, and took note of each of them, the less than six who were still living. She raised her arm up, and thrust it downward, as if she were cutting the air with a blade. The stems of the flowers flew out, like shots fired from a silent rifle. Each of the stems impaled the fleeing assailants, and soon enough, there was not one of them left living. Kalina looked over the results of her handiwork. The moist, freshly painted roofs glistened in the moonlight, and the killers had all been killed. The fairy landed down on the ground, and knocked on the shield shell.

"It's okay to come out now," Kalina said. "The killers have been dealt with." The guards cautiously lowered their shields, as their eyes widened in shock. The walls around them had been speckled with drops of blood, and collectively, they looked down to the ground, to see that they had been standing within a puddle of the deep red. Agatha looked as if she were struggling to avoid vomiting.

"Let's get out of here," Agatha pleaded. "I don't want to breathe this air any longer." Her nose filled with the reek of fresh blood.

"Of course, your highness," Kalina said. She began to lead the group through the streets once more, ignoring the burning of the terrified stares to her back. As much as it pained the flower fairy to do so, she had to admit that her brother was right. She was the best person for the job.

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:** Flowers can be very dangerous. I took some heavy inspiration for Kalina's powers from the likes of Tuxedo Kamen and Pisces Aphrodite. Which is funny because they're both male (even if Aphrodite not only looks female, but has a female name!). This was originally 2 chapters, but they were so short I spliced them into one (also tea parties aren't very riveting).

Feel free to leave your feedback in a review! Feedback is always appreciated!


	5. Chapter 4: Mourningstar

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Winx. Thank you to flying scourge, NickyNameJade, Ultimate Bohab and EverlastingStorm for reviewing this story! It's greatly appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Mourningstar  
**

Ekini groaned as she picked herself off of the floor. Her back, hips and neck had sharply pained her whenever she moved. She carefully plucked the crusts of mucous out of the corners of her eyes. She rubbed her eyes afterwards, and blinked a few times, hoping that her vision would clear. She looked over to her couch, and saw Alfea sleeping soundly. Not so soundly, was Laskaurin, who was snoring quite loudly, easily heard through the shut door of the bedroom. A mischievous smile crept upon Ekini's face, as she went into her kitchen, picked up a bucket, filled it with the water from her washstand, and carefully carried it into her bedroom. She quietly opened the door, and laid her eyes upon the sleeping Solarian, who was splayed out over her mattress. Ekini felt a slight pang of guilt, knowing that Lask had offered to sleep on the ground, and that if anyone deserved a rude awakening, it was the girl on the couch.

Fortunately, the guilt passed quickly, as she launched the contents of the bucket into the air right above the mattress. The excitement in her heart was like a firework, burning away at the fuse, inching ever closer... until...

"Aghh!" Lask shrieked as she jumped awake, chilled, and soaked. Ekini couldn't control herself, and she burst out laughing. Lask's eyes narrowed to slits. "You!" She leapt out of the bed and tackled Ekini to the floor, and fastened her hands around the Dragon fairy's neck. In the struggle, the two bumped into an empty shelf, and knocked it over, causing it to slam loudly onto the floor.

Alfea burst into the room. "What's going on here?!" she screamed. She wasn't sure how to feel about what she was looking at. A soaking wet Lask, choking Ekini.

"Help... me..." Ekini said through several gargles. Lask loosened her grip around the princess' neck, and let her head drop to the floor. Ekini rubbed a small red ring that had taken form around her neck. "That's better. What are you trying to do, kill me?"

"You shouldn't have thrown the bucket on me!" Lask yelled back.

"You both need to grow up!" Alfea chastised. She stormed off, back into the living room. Ekini and Lask both stared at each other, reddened with embarrassment.

"Let's go check on that friend of yours," Lask suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that," Ekini agreed.

* * *

"Mirsia!" Ekini cried, as she knocked on her next-door neighbour's door. "We're here to visit!" She knocked at Mirsia's door a few more times, but there was no reply.

"Maybe she went out," Lask said. "She didn't know we were here. What time does she normally get up?"

"At dawn," Ekini replied. She began to pace, and bite the tips of her fingernails. "We could have missed her, but I'm surprised she didn't come into my house."

"She might not even remember what happened last night," Alfea said. "And, Lucius told us he would be back in the morning. He might have something important to tell us."

"I think you just want to see him," Lask said. Alfea gave her a dirty look, causing the Solarian to laugh a bit. Lask pat Alfea's head a few times. "You couldn't look angry if you tried."

"You two go ahead," Ekini said. "I'll try to look around for Mirsia a little more." The other two girls nodded at Ekini, and took flight in their fairy forms, and flew off into the distance, returning to Castle Magix. Ekini darted off into the streets, searching for a sign of her missing friend. "Mirsia?" There was no sign of the girl anywhere. "Mirsia?!" She ran into a wide open square, populated by several market stalls. Ekini continued her run, past the stalls her friend visited most frequently. "Miss Esplo!" Ekini ran up to an elderly woman, standing keep behind a fruit stall.

"Good morning, dear," the old woman replied. "What can I help you with?"

"I wanted to know if you'd seen Mirsia today," Ekini asked.

Miss Esplo frowned. "I'm sorry dear, but I haven't seen that girl in the last week. Maybe you should try the thread store."

"Thanks for your help Miss Esplo!" Ekini exclaimed, as she continued to run through the bustling streets of the village. After a few twists and turns, she ran into a small building; Ursula's thread shop, where Mirsia had worked as a seamstress.

"Hey, Ursula!" Ekini yelled, as she waved at the shop owner, who was behind a short counter. Ekini jogged on the spot, ready to dash back outside if Mirsia wasn't in the shop. All the while, Ekini constantly looked all around the room, trying to find any sign of Mirsia.

Ursula smiled at Ekini, and walked over to the counter. "Hey there, Eki. What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen Mirsia anywhere?" Ekini asked. "I've looked everywhere, but I can't find her."

"She came in this mornin'," Ursula said. "She mentioned she was leavin' town so she could get some materials to make dye."

"Did she mention what colour?"

"Yellow I think."

"Gelberries!" Ekini exclaimed, with a snap of her fingers. "Thanks Ursula!"

"No problem."

Ekini ran outside, and began to make her past the northern edge of town, near the Gelberry plantation. The Gelberry was a truly disgusting fruit, which held little appeal to anyone outside of doctors – who used it as a sinus medicine – and tailors, who used it to make bright yellow dye. Ekini ran as quickly as her legs would carry her, only beginning to slow down as the pungent odour of the Gelberry fields began to assault her nostrils. It was a scent somewhere between sugar syrup, and burning hair. Ekini plugged her nose shut, and continued to run, when she caught a sight of peach-blonde hair, hidden slightly underneath a straw hat, bobbing up and down in the fields. Eagerly, she ran over to the head she saw.

"Mirsia!" Ekini yelled, as she waved her arms in the air.

"Hmm?" Mirsia turned around, to see who was calling her. "Oh! Ekini!" Mirsia jumped up from the Gelberry plant she was picking, and ran over to hug the Dragon fairy. "I thought you said you would be gone for a few days?"

"Well, I will be," Ekini replied. "But, I wanted to see how you were doing. I brought Alfea with me to visit, but we couldn't find you."

Mirsia pouted. "I see. I was hoping I could see Alfie sometime soon."

"She can come back tonight," Ekini said.

"Really?!" Mirsia's pout turned into a hopeful smile.

"Yep. But, I want to talk to you about something more serious." Ekini's voice lowered into a hushed whisper.

"What is it?"

"When we found you last night, you were brought back to the village, unconscious by a group of witches. Do you remember any of it?"

Mirsia clutched at her head. It began to ache, feeling as if someone had taken a part of her brain and just cut it out. "No. I can't remember anything that happened last night!" She fell to her knees. "I can't..." Images of vague memories flashed in her mind. Black. Colours, and blurs.

"It's okay," Ekini said softly. She hugged her friend tightly. "You're fine now. The witches told us they thought you were passed out from exhaustion. Did you push yourself too hard yesterday?"

"I don't think I did anything I wouldn't do normally. Maybe I've been working a little harder than usual lately." The black-glass ring slipped off of Mirsia's finger, and fell to the ground. She gasped when she saw it. It was both foreign, and familiar to her, all at the same time.

"I can get it for you," Ekini said, as she reached down to pick the ring up.

"No!" Mirsia screamed. "Don't touch it!" She quickly swooped down, and picked the ring back up, before putting it back on her finger.

"S-sorry," Ekini said apologetically. "I-I didn't-"

"No, I'm sorry," Mirsia said. She glanced down at the ring and her bracelet. "I don't know what came over me." She took a few deep breaths, in and out, and furrowed her brow, puzzled by her own behaviour.

"That's a nice ring," Ekini said, after some slight hesitation. "And it matches so perfectly with your bracelet! Where'd you get it?"

"I... I've had it for a long time. I just never wore it before." Mirsia bit her lower lip. She couldn't quite remember exactly how long ago that was.

"It looks good on you."

Mirsia smiled nervously at her friend. "Really? You think so?"

"Of course!" Ekini glanced over to the tall buildings of Magix City in the distance. "I think I should get going. We'll come back to see you later, me and Alfea!" Ekini began to float in the air. "See you soon!"

"Bye!" With a final wave, Ekini zoomed off into the distance, back towards Magix City. Mirsia went back to the basket she left on the ground near the Gelberry plant. She stooped down to pick at some more berries, occasionally glancing at the black-glass ring on her finger, admiring it. _It does look good on me, _she thought.

* * *

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Ekini yelled cheerfully, as she flew through the front gates of Magix Castle, and into the foyer. As she had expected, Alfea and Lask were waiting there for her. Their faces were uncomfortably morose. "What's wrong?"

"We were given some... disturbing news from Litra." Lask began. Seeing Lask behaving so seriously was unnerving.

Ekini swallowed, moistening her dried throat. "What happened?"

"Last night, Kalina fought to protect Princess Agatha of Delona from assassins, working for the Shadow-Phoenix," Alfea said. "She had seen the faces of the mother witches, and as a result, she was being targeted."

"And?" Ekini said, wanting the girls to hurry up and spit out what it was they had to say.

"She managed to hold them off," Lask said. "And, a lot of blood was shed, but Agatha made it here safely."

"What's the problem then?!" Ekini shouted, her patience had run thin.

"Well..." Alfea began, her voice was quaking. "Agatha was found dead this morning, inside of her room. And I haven't been able to find even a trace of her spirit."

"No way. That can't-" Ekini stammered, as she nearly stumbled over. Princess Agatha had been a passing acquaintance of hers, given that they had met before, during royal affairs. While they had never considered each other friends, it was still a heartbreaking message. "But... how?!"

"There were at least ten of Delona's guards standing watch outside of her room, and at least four in there with her," Lask said. But somehow, her heart was frozen."

"Unreal," Ekini muttered, barely audible. She ran her hands through her hair. "So it was ice magic that killed her?"

"That's right," Lucius said. Ekini jumped at hearing the man's voice. "It's only a personal theory, but I believe that Agatha was killed by one of the mother witches. Specifically, the one named Belladona." At the mere mention of the name, it had felt as if the entire room had been chilled.

"I think you might be right," Alfea said.

"And why would you think that?" Lask asked, as she raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't a time for joking!" Alfea exclaimed.

"Sorry," Lask said. She looked down to her feet, and shuffled a bit. "I'm just really tense."

"But why didn't they attack the rest of the fairies here?" Ekini asked.

"That's a good question," Lucius replied. "Unfortunately, we're probably not going to get answers anytime soon. It's possible that they wanted to eliminate the one person who saw them."

"I can't imagine how King Yakuv feels right now," Ekini commented.

"Me neither," Lucius said. "The king was a family friend of mine, and he asked me to escort his daughter personally."

"Kalina mentioned that you went somewhere else instead," Alfea said. "Where did you go?"

"I met with an old friend of mine. With any luck, he'll be willing to help us out if things go south, and bring some more help with him." Ekini, Alfea and Lask all looked to each other.

"What do we do now?" Lask asked.

"Where you go now is up to you," said Lucius. "I think most of the other fairies have left already."

"I guess we can check on that girl from the comet," Ekini suggested.

"A girl from a comet?" Lucius repeated.

"The girl under Darkar's control you helped yesterday," Alfea replied. "She's gotten better, but we learned she lost her parents."

"I see." Lucius' face became sullen. "How's she been holding up?"

"She's been crying a lot," Lask said. "Understandably so."

"Yeah." Lucius bowed his head sombrely. "I had a friend, who could help her laugh, even a little bit." He smiled, as he remembered. "He could make anyone laugh. And in times like these, a little laughter can go a long way."

* * *

The four had gathered around Ketu's guest room, on the second floor of Castle Magix. They quietly murmured to each other, going over what they could, and couldn't tell the girl. "Ketu?" Alfea said softly, as she knocked on the girl's door. "May we come in?"

"Okay," Ketu said, muffled by the door. Alfea carefully opened the door, and stepped through, along with Ekini, Lask and Lucius, no longer wearing his armour, but once again in his exquisite raiment. Ketu had changed into a cleaner dress, but her eyes were puffy and pink. The lines of her tears had stained her face.

"Who're you?" Ketu asked, as she pointed at Lucius. "You look familiar."

"I'm Lucius of Linphea," the man softly replied. "Kalina of Linphea is my sister. Maybe you know her, and saw the resemblance?"

"Maybe," Ketu said. "But I think I've seen you from somewhere else."

"We could have met before," he said. He was carefully avoiding any mention of the previous night.

"I heard that a princess died. Is it true?" The group became tense, taken slightly aback by the girl's bluntness.

"It is," Alfea said. "But I don't want you to worry about it."

"What happened to her?"

"We... don't know," Ekini replied hesitantly. Similarly to Alfea, she was trying to avoid worrying the younger girl.

"Okay then."

"Are you alright?" Alfea asked. She sat down on the bed next to the younger girl.

"I... I..." Ketu tried to form words, but she broke down into more tears before she could even start. She held on to Alfea tightly, as she began to sob.

"It's okay," Alfea whispered, as she hugged the girl back. Lask and Ekini both placed their hands on Ketu's back to try to comfort the sobbing girl.

"Thought I'd find you all in here." The voice belonged to Kalina, who was standing under the doorframe. The group turned to look at her.

"What's wrong?" Lucius asked.

"Why does something have to be wrong?" Kalina replied crossly.

"Why else would you be here?" Lucius asked.

"Yeah, well..." Kalina paused. She hated when her brother was right. "Something is wrong. The Shadow-Phoenix is here." The faces of the group reflected their worry and fear.

"What do you mean, the Shadow-Phoenix is here?" Ekini asked. Her entire body had become tense. "He's on Magix?!"

Kalina nodded. "Most of the Guardian Fairies have returned to their homes, after what happened to Agatha. There are only a few of us left now."

"Then we'll have to make do," Lask said. "What should we do with Ketu?"

"We should leave her here for now," Alfea said. "She'll be safer here, than with us."

"I'll look after her," Kalina offered.

"Did you get anything at all from Oriane of Pyros?" Lucius asked. Kalina shook her head in response. "What about from Chica, Wadena or Anthem?" Kalina shook her head once more, taking notice of the names. Oriane, Chica, Wadena and Anthem were fairies who hadn't appeared at the summons earlier. Lucius let out a heavy sigh. "I've got some fairy-searching to do. I'll be sure to meet up with all of you, as soon as I get back." He left the room.

"The three of you go down to the foyer," Kalina said. "Litra has work for you." Kalina walked over to the bed, and sat down next to Ketu. "Don't worry about this girl, I'll be able to protect her."

Alfea, Ekini and Lask all nodded at the flower fairy, promptly left the room, and went down to the foyer.

* * *

**"Author's" Notes: **Darkar has made his presence known (sort of), and a Guardian Fairy has been killed. Not a good day for the team.

This Chapter was in editing hell for a while, sorry it took so long! I'm not the most fond of this chapter. Such is how things are with a chapter with mostly dialogue. I don't like having so many constant line breaks. Uploaded now because I'm not taking chances with a storm knocking out my power.

The interesting thing about writing a prequel, is the nagging inner question of just how advanced the technology should be (I spent forever pondering whether something as simple as a sink should exist, so I used the slightly more archaic washstand instead). I've considered going the _"Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic"_ route, where the technology is practically the same, despite being 4000 years outdated, but that seems too easy. While I've never worked out an exact date for how many years before the beginning this story takes place, it's more than 1000, for sure.

Thanks for reading! Please leave your thoughts, comments and criticisms in a review! :D


	6. Chapter 5: Black Clouds Above

**Disclaimer! **I do not own Winx Club. Amazing, I know.

Thank you to flying scourge for the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Black Clouds Above  
**

"Mirsia is your name, isn't it?" The question came from a young woman, with blonde hair, and two other girls with her. The three of them had stood by the door in Mirsia's house, slowly making their way inside.

"Stay away!" Mirsia cried. She was hiding away from the three young women behind a table in her living room.

"We just want to talk with you," the woman continued. "We're the girls who found you last night. My name is Ledovy, and these are my sisters, Bourlivy, and Temny." She gestured to the frizzy-haired girl, and the purple-haired girl respectively. "We wanted to see if you were doing alright."

"My friend told me about you," Mirsia said. Her chest was heaving, filled with fear. "Please stay away."

"What's wrong?" Bourlivy asked. She stared at the ring and bracelet Mirsia wore, and smirked.

"Please, just leave," Mirsia said. She bowed her head as tears spilled from her face to the floor. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"You couldn't hurt us," Temny said soothingly.

"You're wrong!" The petite blonde girl inched further away from the three witches.

"Just tell us what's happened," Ledovy said. "We might be able to help." She put a friendly smile on her face, as she reached out, and placed her hand on Mirsia's shoulder.

"No! Everything I touch..." She looked down at the small, emaciated rabbit her hands. It had looked as if its very life had been drained from its body.

"Dies?" Bourlivy said, completing the sentence for the girl. Mirsia took a deep, shaky breath in before she nodded. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"It's not just him," Mirsia said, as she lifted the rabbit up and showed it to them. "It happened to the gelberry bush too." The rabbit disintegrated in her hands, and slipped through the gaps in her fingers, falling to the floor as a pile of dust. Mirsia's puffy eyes widened in shock, as more tears began to fall.

"Are you certain it was just the bunny and the bush?" Temny asked. She lifted her arm, and the room was filled with a thick black fog. "Maybe it was something more..." Mirsia wandered through the fog aimlessly, looking for a glimmer of light, a way out of the darkness. As she stumbled around, she saw something shining in the distance. "Go for it," Temny said. Mirsia ran to the light, feeling the hope returning to her heart, and the despair beginning to wash away. In front of her, there was a door. She opened the door, peered through and let out a scream in fear.

"No!" Mirsia cried. She fell to her knees and reached out to the broken corpse in front of her. "Why..." She reached the head of the body, and turned it to face her. She stared into the lifeless eyes of Ursula, the local thread vendor. She let out a gasp as tears began to freely fall from her eyes. "Is this because I touched her?" Ursula's body turned to sand and crumbled away, as the dark fog began to clear. Soon enough, Mirsia found herself back in her home, together with the three witches.

"Someone as kind as you shouldn't have to cry like this," Ledovy said. She spoke as if she were talking to a small child. She cradled Mirsia's head, and the two stared into each others eyes.

"I... I remember who you are," Mirsia said, as her eyes began to widen. Her breath became even shakier. "Y-You were with him... Phoenix. In the castle. You brought me back here after." Each of the three witches grinned at Mirsia's words. The small girl began to tremble. "I heard your true names." She stared at the woman calling herself Ledovy. "Belladonna..." She looked over at Temny. "Lysslis..." She turned to face Bourlivy. "And, Tharma. You're the mother witches." The three could barely hold themselves back from bursting out into laughter. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Of course not," Belladonna said.

"You made a wish upon a star, to become a fairy, didn't you?" Tharma asked. Mirsia nodded uneasily.

"Then come with us," Lysslis said. The three witches lifted her into the air with their magic. "We'll make your dream come true." They took the girl out of her home, and flew into the air. The witches carried her hundreds of feet into the air, until the world below looked as if it had been the toy of a child.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" Belladonna asked. "Is this what you want to feel?" They zoomed through the air, and brought a small smile to Mirsia's face. She closed her eyes as they flew, and she savoured the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair, and the warmth of the sun on her back.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Mirsia asked. She reopened her eyes, and looked down to the world below, scanning over every detail. The movement, the colours, the beauty. She had lived her entire life on the ground, always told by her peers that she would never take flight, simply because she wasn't born with the talent. _If only they could see me now, _she thought.

"Our master is a generous god," Tharma said. "He heard your wish, and asked us to make it a reality."

"But, how?" Mirsia asked. She began to feel somewhat hazy. More memories began rushing into her mind; not just of the previous night, but strange images that had seemed completely foreign to her. Memories of a cold, and frightening place. Memories of other small kids. Forgotten friends? Friends she had before she met Ekini and Alfea?

"Leave everything to us," Lysslis said cloyingly. The witches flew back down to the surface at a bewildering speed, and swiftly ducked down into a cave below, and began to fly deep into the hidden depths of Magix. Deep within the caverns, the three witches eventually reached the ever expanding stronghold of the Shadow-Phoenix. The memories of the place began flooding back to Mirsia, as she suddenly recalled travelling there on her own. She had been able to notice that the castle had become larger since she last visited. It was still as black as a starless night. Mirsia looked down to the bracelet and ring she had worn, and noticed that the rocks they were built out of were exactly the same. The four continued to fly through the maze of tunnels leading into the castle, until at long last, they had arrived at the foot of the throne of Phoenix.

The menacing man stood up slowly. When he was up, he looked down upon the three witches, who knelt down before him. He stared at Mirsia, and the red flames that were his eyes seemed to become smaller.

"Why have you brought her back so soon?" Phoenix boomed. The three witches shuddered slightly.

"She is ready, my lord," Belladonna said. "I had not expected the transition to be so quick, but the power you placed in her has already begun to manifest, and grow."

"How can you be sure?" the man asked.

"She's already killed three lifeforms," Tharma chuckled. "A plant, an animal, and a girl."

"Impressive," Phoenix said. He grinned at the girl, though it was barely visible on his dark visage. He rested his arm on her shoulder. The black metal chilled Mirsia to her bones. "You have no reason to fear me."

"You're Darkar, aren't you?" Mirsia squeaked.

"I have had many names."

"B-But... you're evil!" Mirsia exclaimed.

Phoenix began to laugh uproariously. "Am I now? Is that what you've been told?"

"Yes."

"By whom?"

"My friend... Ekini."

"The fairy of the Dragon-flame?" Phoenix scoffed. Mirsia nodded. "Is this your friend who flaunted her god-like powers in front of you as if it were no big deal?" Mirsia hesitated to answer. "Your friend, who cares so little for you, that she doesn't even notice how she hurts you?" The young girl's eyes began to mist up. "My child, you have been shown the true path." He lifted her head by her chin, and looked into her eyes. He removed his helmet, to reveal his face. He was the last thing Mirsia had expected to see. He had lustrous blonde hair, which was mostly short, with bangs long enough to reach down to past his eyes at points. Behind his head, there were occasional longer strands, reaching down to his lower back. His features were soft, and almost delicate. His eyes were a blazing swirl of yellow, orange, and blue, but they were wide, calm and – most surprisingly – honest.

_How? _Mirsia wondered. _Such a beautiful colour... Are these the eyes of a dark god? The Shadow-Phoenix? It's like looking into a Solarian sunset, on a cloudless night._

"In your eyes, I see sorrow," Phoenix said. "The sorrow of an orphan." Without his helm, it was as if everything about Phoenix had changed. His voice was no longer rough and threatening. It was still deep, but there was a softer tone to it.

"How do you know?" Mirsia asked. She was still entranced by Phoenix's eyes.

"I can recognize the pain," he said. "The pain shared between you, and ever other creature born into existence by the Dragon's fire. If we believe the next life is a paradise, why do we let people suffer here?" The smooth droning of his voice was beginning calm Mirsia.

"I don't know..."

He smiled softly at Mirsia. "I want to help the people who suffer every day. I help them find peace. If I can gain command over the Ultimate Power, I can undo the evil Dragon has done."

"How will you gain the Ultimate Power?"

"I need for you to collect the energy of the Dragon-flame. Within every living creature's cells, as long as there is some magic in them, there is Dragon-flame. I have given you the blessing of the Phoenix, and through it, you've collected power from the three lives you've brought peace to today. Through my blessing, _you_ will find peace, knowing that your dreams have come true." Phoenix let go of the girl's chin, as she was surrounded by darkness, hidden in a veil of black and purple. When the darkness disappeared, she had been changed. She had finally become a fairy.

She was wrapped within a black dress that reached down past her knees, made with a fabric smoother than even Ekini's finest clothes. Similarly to Phoenix's armour, it was a pure black, incapable of being stained by light. She wore a matching pair of black boots, and black gloves, with three pairs of black wings upon her back, each with sharp tips. Perhaps most unusually for a dark fairy of the Shadow-Phoenix, her eyes had remained unchanged. They were still the warm brown they had always been.

Phoenix smiled down at Mirsia, who smiled back up at him... her new master. "In the world of the mortals, you shall be my hand," Phoenix said, as he placed his helmet back on his head. "A hand which will grasp even the Ultimate Power!" His voice returned to the more coarse tone. Mirsia nodded, as she wore a dreamy smile on her face. "We will bring the people of this universe peace."

"What are your orders, master?" Belladonna asked.

"The four of you must collect Dragon-flame, enough to rival the powers of the Nymph of Magix. When we have enough, we will be able to summon forth the Ultimate Power. With the negative energy I have given to the girl, she will act as the amphora the Dragon-flame will dwell within."

"Not to be disrespectful master, but why not just take control of the Dominoan princess?"

"I'm not yet desperate enough to try something so risky," Phoenix said. "Letting that girl into Realix is the last thing I want right now." The three witches nodded in understanding. "We will start small, and personal. For now, we will fool the people of the Magical Universe into believing that this is a simple war. Starting with an invasion."

"What will you have us do?" Lysslis asked.

"The four of you will take command over the shadow beasts, and conquer Cloud Tower. From there, you will set fire to the neighbouring towns, and let those fairies know that war has come to their doorstep. By the time you finish with Cloud Tower, the rest of my witches and dark fairies should have arrived."

"We will not fail you," Tharma said. The three witches stood up.

"Now go, and let the people know that they fight Darkar, the Shadow-Phoenix!"

The four girls flew out of the fortress, and back into the world above, where night had fallen. Mirsia wore an ecstatic smile on her face the entire time. Flying, the wind against her wings, the way her hair felt as it was pushed out of her face; it was all exactly how she imagined it would feel.

"There it is," Belladonna said. She pointed at a twisting spire in the distance. "Cloud Tower." The top of the tower was concealed by dark storm clouds.

"The old cloud witch Nimba lives in there, with her assistants," Lysslis said, facing Mirsia. "She's almost as old as we are, but nowhere near as powerful."

"How old are you?" Mirsia asked. The three witches laughed. "You look like the same age as me."

"That's a secret to everyone," Tharma said with a wink. "Now, let's go, and show that upstart the fury of a true witch!" The four zoomed off to the tower, and landed at the base. When they reached it, they looked up the side of the purple stone. The structure appeared to be breathing, expanding and contracting. The four made their way up to the front gates, and bashed the gate open with their magic.

"Remember," Belladonna said, "we're here to collect power. No survivors." A witch carrying several potion reagents took notice of the four walking in.

"Um... this is private property," the witch said. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Sorry," Belladonna began, "but we're here to stay. **Crystal chill!**" A wave of ice shot out of Belladonna's hand, and froze the witch mid breath. Mirsia touched the frozen witch with her hand, and the colour to drain from the witch's skin, as her body atrophied and turned to dust. Mirsia's eyes glowed red momentarily, as the Dragon-flame within the witch was drawn into her body.

"It's a start," Mirsia said. "Now, it's time for the rest of them." The witches grinned to each other, knowing that they had completed their previous mission flawlessly. They slowly ascended the great tower – they left no door unopened – ending the lives of all of the witches and test animals they came across. Cloud Tower was very much a relic, it was very isolated from the outside world, so much so that it was rare that anyone ever entered, or exited the place. As such the witches were completely without help, in a hopeless battle against the assault from the women empowered by Darkar himself. Near the top of the tower, the group found themselves face to face with an entire mob of witches, laying in wait for them.

"Invaders," one of the witches said, "leave now, or face the consequences."

"Your pitiful consequences don't mean anything to us," Tharma said. With a flick of her wrist, the room was engulfed within a twister. The defending witches were barely able to stay standing. "**Positive lightning!**" Several strikes of lightning vaporized the girls who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the shock, and deafened the others with the explosive noise following, loud enough to shatter all of the glass in the room. The remaining witches began to panic and scream.

"Let's give them something to really scream about," Lysslis chuckled. She raised her arm and filled the room with darkness. "**Obsidian nightmare!**" The screams coming from the witches became even louder and more fearful. Several began to kill their fellow witches in their hallucinations, and other tried jumping out of the shattered windows, only to be pulled back inside by Tharma.

"This is taking too long," Belladonna said flatly. "**Black blizzard!**" Black snowflakes began to fill the room, freezing all of the witches it touched, and causing them to shatter into thousands of pieces. "Try your new magic out, don't let us have all the fun."

Mirsia nodded. _Being the opposite of the Dragon, maybe my spells are the opposite of Ekini's, _Mirsia thought. _What was her favourite one again? I remember... Now what would the opposite be? _A wild smile appeared on her face, as she raised her arms forward, facing the remaining dazed witches, the correct chant forming in her mind. Mirsia felt a tingle pass through her body, like blood in her veins, eventually stopping on her fingertips, where sparks began to dance. "**Infernal shadow!**" Several streams of black energy shot out from her palms, and sapped the life out of the witches touched by the spell. Mirsia's eyes glowed red once more, as the life essence was pulled out of their bodies, and into her own. There were still a few witches left, but they were the owners of broken spirits.

"Let me take care of the dregs," Lysslis said with a cruel smile. "**Mind killer!**" The remaining witches began to shudder violently, with several of their mouths beginning to foam. Each of their bodies contorted unnaturally, as they all twisted their necks until they snapped. "Not a bad little work out." Mirsia collected the remainder of the Dragon-flame residual energy, turning all the corpses into sand.

"All that's left is Nimba herself, and Cloud Tower is ours!" Belladonna exclaimed. She was almost giddy with excitement.

"Leave this to me," Tharma said. "I've got a bone to pick with this witch."

"What do you mean?" Mirsia asked.

"Never get in between a feud between storm witches," Lysslis said, with an exasperated sigh. The four opened the door leading up one final flight of stairs to the top room in the tower, where Nimba herself was shuddering behind a desk. The witch was old and feeble, her hair was long and grey, her skin was covered in warts, and she could barely open her eyes.

"Who's there?!" Nimba cried. She had tried to sound imposing, but her voice was too strained to come off as anything other than helpless.

"Well, well, well," Tharma said. "Look who it is. The years haven't been as kind to you as they've been to me."

"Who are you?!" Nimba asked, as she moved into the corner of the room, as far away from the four killers as she could be.

"I can't believe you don't recognize me," Tharma said, feigning disappointment. She walked up "That hurts you know. Here's a name you'll never forget. It's Tharma."

"No... it can't be."

"Thought you'd gotten rid of me? Thought I'd disappear and stay gone, didn't you?"

"**Cumulonimbus!**" Nimba shouted, as a heavy cloud filled the room. Tharma was pelted by hail and even lightning, but was strong enough to ward it off, all while ignoring the high speed winds.

"You're weak!" Tharma mocked. "Let me end this, how I should have all those years ago. **Positive lightning!**" An intense burst of light engulfed the feeble woman, and destroyed her entire body in an instant, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes on the floor. The explosive thunder broke the windows once more. Tharma began to cackle madly. "I finally killed the bitch!"

"Cloud Tower is ours," Belladonna said. She walked over to one of the broken windows, and set her gaze on the city in the distance. "The fall of Magix begins here."

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**"Author's" notes: **Phoenix and Darkar are the same entity. What is he planning I wonder? :3 It's nice to have at least some canon characters available for use.

Positive lightning is definitely a strange name for the spell of an evil witch. But positive lightning in real life is one of the most terrifying things I've had the displeasure of experiencing.

I like writing these longer, continuous chapters with no breaks. Editing hell makes me cry.

Please feel free to tell me what you think of this story in a review! :D


	7. Chapter 6: Hold Nothing Back

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Winx Club. Just thought I'd let you know.

Big thanks to flying scourge for the continuous reviews! Still some editing hell. I need to speed things up.

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**Chapter Six: Hold Nothing Back  
**

Alfea, Ekini and Lask were flying back to Magix Castle – with a new girl following them – having completed the mission given to them a few hours earlier by Litra. It was a simple task, merely finding the girl, and bringing her to the castle, similarly to Kalina's mission, minus the only thing that made her mission difficult – the assassins. The girl was the Guardian Fairy and princess of a realm called Callisto. She was a rather timid girl, named Wadena. She was very homely for a princess, with a very plain and forgettable face. Her teeth were a bit too large for her mouth, and her purple hair had appeared to be thoroughly greased with too much oil. To compliment the look, she had a huge pair of clunky glasses that obscured her eyes.

"We're almost there," Alfea said. She pointed up at the towering castle in the distance. "That's it there."

"Oh wow," Wadena said, her voice nasally. She clumsily pushed her glasses up on her face. "That's a big ol' castle alright. Do any of you remember the names of the other Guardian Fairies who are still here?"

"Hmm..." Alfea rotated her body in the air and began to fly upside down, staring at the clouds as she tried to think of the names. "Tressia of Popularis, Avanza of Zenith, and well, Kalina of Linphea. They're the only other ones still around."

"If something happens, we're gonna have some trouble," Lask said. She turned to look at the other fairies, slight exasperation apparent on her face. "Can you try to fly just a little faster?"

"I hate to admit it, but she's right." Ekini waved her arm through the air, motioning for the others to move faster. "I know you two aren't as fast as us, but we can't waste so much time." Alfea and Wadena nodded towards each other, before the group doubled their speed, from their relaxing pace to a grueling one. It was not a long flight, but it left Alfea and Wadena rather breathless from the higher speed. However, Ekini and Lask seemed unfazed by the flight. After a short spot of rest, they walked through the front gates of the castle, and into the foyer. Litra had been waiting for them, along with a younger brown-haired woman.

"Hello," Wadena said, as she curtsied before Litra. "I'm Wadena of Callisto." Each of the fairies who had just arrived changed back into their original forms, hoping to get a little time to relax.

"Welcome, princess," Litra replied graciously. "Please follow my helper, Miss Kelva over here, and she will lead you to your accommodations." Litra gestured towards the younger woman by her side. Wadena and Kelva made their way up the nearby staircase, off to the guest wing. "I have some troubling news for you girls."

"What's wrong?" Alfea asked.

"There have been rumours that Darkar has begun his assault against Magix," Kalina answered. The three fairies standing before Litra jumped at the sound of her voice; cool and detached. She and Ketu made their way down the stairs Wadena had just climbed, and joined other the three girls.

"We sent Guardian Avanza with a group of Charmix fairies to investigate, but we haven't heard back from them," Litra continued. Her mouth was stuck in a frown.

"Could they have-" Alfea began, but was interrupted.

"We've returned," a feminine voice said. The voice came from a tall Enchantix fairy, with long cherry-red hair, standing underneath the entry archway. Behind her were two other fairies, only in their basic fairy forms, with the added Charmix accessories; one with short black hair, and the other with a pink ponytail. "Avanza of Zenith." She placed her right arm on her chest and the two younger fairies copied her movements.

"Namira of Andros," the black-haired one said.

"Hama of Espero," the pink-haired one added.

Litra looked over the three girls several times, before her eyes widened. "Where are Rosa and Reima?"

"They... didn't make it." Avanza bowed her head, and the two younger fairies followed suit. "The rumour about the forces of Darkar gathering in Cloud Tower was true. Many of the witches have been killed, and those living near the tower are now overcome with fear." Alfea, Ekini and Lask all shared the the same emotion of concern, and wore it plain on their faces. "We continued our search, and found those responsible. Three powerful witches, and a dark fairy. We fought them... No one survived. They along with Rosa and Reima... were killed."

"Killed?" Lask repeated, as if seeking confirmation.

"Y-Yes," Namira stammered. Her body began to shudder.

"They're all dead," Hama added.

Alfea, Ekini, Lask and Litra all turned to each other, unsure of what to ask next. Kalina caught a glimpse of quick movement from the corner of her eye. "Look out!" The flower fairy threw her arm out in front of the group.

"What?!" Ekini yelled in confusion. The three fairies standing under the entryway rushed towards the group, spells glowing on their fingertips.

"You're first Dragon-fairy!" Avanza screamed. "**Analog Wave!**" An oscillating burst of radiant energy fired from the Enchantix fairy's hands, straight towards Ekini.

"**Rising Current!**" Namira thrust her hands forward, as she fired a jet of pressurized water at the group.

"**Hopeful Breeze!**" Hama lifted her hands high into the air, as a stream of glittery wind began to fly in the group's direction.

"What the?!" Lask shouted, as she quickly whipped herself around. Alfea hid Ketu behind her. "**Solarian sunscreen!**" She crossed her arms in front of her face, as the translucent yellow barrier formed between the two groups.

"**Death-petal barrier!**" Kalina lifted a single hand up to her face, as dozens of silver petals swirled in behind the shield created by Lask.

The Solarian fairy flinched as the spells from the now malicious fairies crashed into the wall of energy, and were deflected to the sides of the room, cracking the walls. The faces of the three vicious fairies remained emotionless.

"Those were not the spells of novice fairies," Kalina said warily. "How did you become so powerful?!"

The three fairies grinned as their clothing became black, their wings became sharper, and their eyes changed to the yellow eyes of a demon.

Ketu began to hyperventilate when she saw how they had changed. Alfea held on to the young girl tightly and whispered in her ear: "Don't worry. You're safe with us." Her own heart had been beating rapidly. She wasn't sure how truthful that promise would be.

"How could such devoted fairies become minions of evil?" Litra's voice cracked as spoke.

Avanza lifted a strand of long red hair out of her face, and pushed it behind her ear, revealing the cat-like pupil within her eye. "Lord Darkar has opened our eyes to the truth, and given us amazing power. He gave us these gifts in return for your lives!" The three girls charged forward, ready to cast more spells.

Ekini found herself frozen, only able to watch as the three girls drew closer, and as if they were moving in slow-motion. Her friends at her side moving to counterattack. Alfea holding on to Ketu. Ekini stared at the three attacking girls, and could see the faintest hint of tears beginning to form in their eyes. Lask and Kalina had already changed into their Enchantix forms, and their mouths were open, ready to let the names of their spells fly from their tongues. There was no time to try and stop them.

"**Coronal ejection!**" Lask held her arms apart, as white rays of light jutted forth from her hands.

"**Death-petal flight!**" Kalina flicked her wrist, as her silver flower petals sprung forth, towards the attackers.

The three fairies took the blows head on. They were thrown back, and landed on the grass outside the arch of the front portcullis. Their wings had shattered to pieces nearly instantly as they were hit, and they were wounded across their bodies; burnt from the light, and slashed open by the petals. Yet, they did not bleed. Tears began to flow freely from their eyes, as their irises returned to their natural shades, the innocent eyes of a true fairy. Ekini and Alfea rushed over to the fallen girls and knelt by their sides.

Namira smiled up at the two girls weakly. "We tried to fight him, but he was too strong."

"T-Thanks for setting us free," Hama coughed.

"W-We were already d-dead, before we even got here. Don't let him get you too." Avanza let out a quiet laugh, filled with regret. "Look at me, a Zenithian crying like this." The three girls fell still, as their bodies crumbled into ashes. Lask and Kalina bowed their heads. Alfea could only stare at Ekini's face. The Dragon fairy's face was twisted; her eyes were squinted and her teeth were clenched.

"What's going on?!" Wadena asked, as she stumbled down the stairs. "There was a lot of noise."

"Go back to your room," Kalina said bluntly. "None of us are in the mood to explain anything."

"But, I-"

"I said, go back to your room."

The green-haired princess of Callisto nodded fearfully, and ran back up the stairs to the guest wing. Ekini cupped the ashes on the grass into her hands, and threw them to the wind.

"Send us after Darkar." Lask gestured towards herself and Kalina.

"So we might atone for killing our fellow fairies," Kalina added with a nod.

"I will not," Litra said snappily. "You are not expendable, nor are you strong enough."

"And who is?!" Lask shouted. Litra had no reply for her. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the group, only broken as another Enchantix fairy abruptly slammed down into the grass, panting heavily. She had sharp features, long, burnt orange hair, a fair complexion, and expertly applied make-up.

"Miss Litra... we have... a problem." the girl said.

"Take a few deep breaths," Litra said. The girl nodded and took a few deep breaths in and out. "Now, Tressia of Popularis, please relay your message."

"Villages near Magix City are under attack," Tressia said. "Darkar's forces have invaded."

"Which ones?!" Ekini shrieked. She felt her heart sink, as she reached up to Tressia's shoulder and stared at the other girl, eye to eye.

"All of them within a reasonable distance."

"Mirsia..." Ekini transformed into her Enchantix. _She could be in trouble!_ She thought. The Dragon-Fairy crouched down, ready to take flight.

"Ekini, wait!" Alfea took hold of Ekini's wrist, keeping her grounded.

"I'm done waiting!" Ekini wrestled her arm away. "I'm not letting them hurt Mirsia!" Her body practically vanished as she sprung up into the air, flying so quickly that she had already faded into the distance, towards her village near Lake Roccaluce.

"What are we gonna do?"

"Take action, of course!" Lask slammed a fist into her own open palm.

"I'll come with you," Tressia said. "There are four villages being attacked right now."

"Right," Alfea nodded. "All four... Brightfield-on-Roccaluce, Prenholme, Bearplain and Pinesummit!"

"The four of us will split up, and each of us will take one," Kalina said. "Alfea, you follow Ekini to Brightfield, and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. Where should the rest of us go though?"

Alfea stood up, and looked over each girl. "I know! Lask, you go to Pinesummit, since it's the furthest and you're fast. Tressia, you go to Prenholme, since it's close and you're probably tired. Kalina can go to Bearplain since it's the only one left. So... I'm going east, Lask north, Tressia south, and Kalina west."

"If we hurry, we can minimize the casualties." Kalina said. "We don't know the exact locations of the towns, but it shouldn't be too hard to find them... worst case scenario, follow the destruction." The four girls transformed into their Enchantix, and took flight in opposite directions.

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**"Author's" Notes: **These chapter lengths are a crapshoot.

Don't be afraid to leave me a review with your thoughts, comments and criticisms! Hugs to those who do. :D


	8. Chapter 7: A Fire Which Leaves No Ashes

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Winx Club. That's probably a good thing.

Thanks to flying scourge and Palledian Princess for the reviews! The story has been going on a sliding descent into darker territory, but I must admit it's something I had planned on since the beginning. It's one of the reasons I didn't make this into a SYOC. Sorry about the 2 month hiatus. In both this story and Traitor Beasts I've made some changes to my overall scripts, and for this chapter it's had a big impact.

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**Chapter Seven: A Fire Which Leaves No Ashes**

"Mirsia?!" Ekini weaved her way through the burning ruins of the small village she had called home. _She's alright, _Ekini thought._ She has to be. Back in her house... I'll help her... _She flew through the stone streets, avoiding the billowing smoke above. Soon enough, she had come upon her own home, which had collapsed, and Mirsia's home right next door, still standing, just barely. Ekini kicked the door in, which had cracked easily from the rotting wood in the frame. She covered her face to avoid inhaling the smoke that quickly escaped through the new opening. The Dominoan princess jumped into the house, and began to crawl through the rooms, looking for any sign of her friend. "Mirsia?!" The girl was nowhere to be found. _What if she's in my house?!_

Ekini crawled out of the house, and in a swift fit of panic, began to dig through the rubble of her own home. Still, there was no sign of Mirsia, but she did find the body of Tufi, trapped in his cage. She took a short moment to mourn the loss of her beloved guinea pig, but she quickly hardened her heart. There were still people who needed help, and Mirsia was one of them. "Mirsia?!" She turned back into the streets, and saw the bodies of her neighbours trapped underneath the rubble of their own homes, crushed to death. She ran her hands through her hair as she began to tremble. Hot tears began to slip down her face and mixed with the cold sweat on her cheeks. "Why is this happening?"

"The master knew you would come here," a woman's voice chirped. Ekini turned to glare at the source. She had green skin and clawed hands. When she smiled, she ran her tongue over sharpened teeth. She was accompanied by two ferocious beasts. They had a grotesque form, appearing to be little more than bone and sinew, crudely arranged into a skeletal reptilian body. The two beasts stared at Ekini. The empty eye sockets in their skulls began to glow, and they began to gnash their teeth. "I'll be rewarded greatly for bringing him your head." She raised her clawed hands into the air, as her palms began to glow. "Rip the flesh from her bones!" The two monsters lunged at Ekini, who jumped back in preparation. "**Deathdust affliction!**" Several glowing red spores flew from her hands and shot towards Ekini.

Ekini raised her two arms forward, and screamed at the top of her lungs. A shock wave of energy knocked the two beasts away, and disintegrated the pollen. "I'm tired of hearing about Darkar. Next time you see Darkar, it'll be in hell!" Her entire body was engulfed in red flames. The monsters and the dark fairy inched away from her. "**Divine firestorm!**" A column of flames fell from the heavens and completely decimated everything in its wake. When the flames disappeared, there was nothing left of the woman or the creatures. Ekini turned around, and looked upon the entirety of the village; the majority of it reduced to nothing but chest high rubble. In the distance, she caught a glimpse of a rising figure, now standing where the town square had once been.

The figure's back was turned to Ekini, but the Dominoan princess was able to recognize who it was, from the long blonde hair alone. She began to run over to the figure and stretched her arm towards her. "Mirsia!" Ekini ran through fire and smoke, and passed through completely unharmed. All that mattered now was that she reach her friend, and protect her. "Mirsia!" The blonde girl turned to look at her, and she smiled. But, there was something strange about the smile. Something off. It wasn't a smile of relief, or comfort. But the kind of smile someone would give if they were... happy. "Mirsia!" She was wearing something Ekini had never seen her in before, a black and purple robe, similar in design to the one the fairies had worn when gathered for their meetings, but slightly more ornate. The sleeves were long, but Ekini could still see the black-glass ring and bracelet on Mirsia's right arm, both pitch black; not even sparkling in the light of the flames. "Mirsia, I'm here!" Ekini had finally made it up to her friend, who was close enough to touch.

"You made it," Mirsia said softly. "You came back for me, like you said you would. Where's Alfea?"

"I don't know," Ekini said, "probably back in Magix. But now's not the time for this! We need to get out of here." Ekini looked down at the ground, and saw that the end of Mirsia's robe had touched the fire; and yet, it did not burn. She stared with curiousity for a few moments before snapping back to her senses. "Let's go!"

"I worked hard to find every last person here," Mirsia said. "I wanted to come back to see if I'd missed anyone..."

"You mean they're safe?!"

"They have found paradise." Mirsia cupped Ekini's face in her hands. The two girls stared into each others eyes. Ekini felt herself becoming weaker, the longer Mirsia's hands remained. Not only that, but Mirsia's eyes were glowing red as well.

"Let... go..." Ekini pulled herself out of Mirsia's hold, and gasped when she saw that her friend had changed. She was no longer wearing the black robe, but had been in a dress that matched the bracelet and ring, reflecting no light. Six black wings had sprouted from her back, and she had an almost intoxicated look on her face. "Y-You're a... fairy?"

Mirsia smiled. "I am now. It's the gift Phoenix gave to me."

Ekini had managed to put the pieces together. Her breathing became shaky, her cheeks began to feel even hotter, her vision darkened, and she could hear the quick beating of her own heart. "You..." more tears began to stream down her face. "You did... all of this?!

Alfea had drawn in close to the village, and could see that the entire area had been lit on fire. She quickened her flying speed, determined to help Ekini. As she pulled over the perimeter, she could see that Ekini and Mirsia were standing alone, in the centre of the destruction. Before she could reach the two of them, several long shadowy arms grabbed hold of each of her limbs, and pulled her down towards the scorched earth. She struggled to free herself from the grasp of the creatures. Ekini and Mirsia couldn't be heard from where she was. The only sounds Alfea could hear were the moans of the angry dead, focusing around her; the fairy of spirits. She was surrounded by all that remained of the villagers. Their corpses, and their mourning ghosts.

"To make our dreams come true... Sacrifices need to be made," Mirsia continued. She held out her hand, and a drop of a liquid fell into her palm. Soon, another fell. And then another, landing on Ekini's nose. The Dragon-Fairy moved her hand to her face, and wiped it off. She looked to her fingers and saw that it was blood. It was not long until the drips had become a full downpour of blood, somehow fueling the flames of the village even further.

"How could you do this? All of our friends and neighbours..." A deep dread began to manifest within Ekini's heart. She felt as if she would keel over any minute now. "You betrayed us?"

"I will never betray myself, or the dreams that I follow."

"I don't want to fight you."

Mirsia stared into Ekini's eyes. "I don't want to fight you either." She walked towards Ekini, who backed away from her.

"Don't come any closer."

Alfea opened her mouth to yell the names of her friends, hoping they might be able to help her. Help her to free herself from the monsters, whose sharp claws dug into her skin, and help her to quiet the screams echoing in her head. Unfortunately, another arm had sprouted out from the ground and grabbed hold of her face, blocking her mouth, but held her jaw steady, forcing her to stare at her the two girls in the distance.

Mirsia took off her heart-shaped necklace and held it in her hand. "To pay for what I've been given... I sacrifice you." She stretched her black wings, and held her arm out towards Ekini.

"You wouldn't..."

"**Infernal Shadow!**" A stream of black energy shot out from Mirsia's palm and pierced through Ekini's body, straight through her heart, taking her completely by surprise. The Dragon-flame fairy choked as she struggled to stay standing.

"Mirsia..." Ekini reached out to her friend. Her eyes blurred with tears. She fell forward, snagging Mirsia's necklace as she fell, pulling it out of the dark fairy's hold.

Mirsia's eyes were a lit for a short while, as she absorbed the remaining power from Ekini's body. "I thought there would be more." Mirsia flew up into the air, and out to the dark distance.

Alfea could only watch in horror. When Mirsia was gone, she heard what sounded like laughter, as the arms that had hold of her began to pull in opposite directions. Alfea summoned her energy and let it flow through her body; fueled by desperation – and rage. She wrestled her head free from the arms, and managed to stand. She let out an angered scream as she severed through remaining the arms with her magic, one by one. Wasting no time, she ran over to Ekini, as skeletal beasts and ghostly apparitions began to crawl out of the ground, and block her path. She mercilessly cut through each of them, either physically or magically, and even tore off the jaw of one beast that managed to bite down on her arm.

Ekini turned herself around, and stared up into the black sky. She watched as the embers above danced in the breeze. She was breathing rapidly, the pain in her chest had numbed, sounds began to soften. Yet, she could swear someone was calling her name.

"Ekini! Eki!" Alfea knelt down to her friend's side.

"Alfie?" Ekini began to weep more openly. "Mirsia... She..."

"D-Don't talk Eki, we'll get you some help..."

Ekini slowly shook her head. "It's too late now... You have to stop her." She held Alfea's hands in her own, and gave her Mirsia's necklace. "You'll see me again..." She began to feel cold all over. A wry smile formed on her face. "Whether you want to or not. I'll haunt you, I mean it."

"Eki..."

"Mirsia may have the powers of the Phoenix... but she doesn't have this. It's the only thing keeping me together now. No one can take it by force, and it can only be given by choice." Ekini clutched at her chest, and pulled out a ball of energy, which sparkled red, yellow and blue. "And it's yours now." She pushed the orb into Alfea's chest, and the ghost-fairy gasped out loud, as a few strands of hair on the back of her head turned red. Her body began to radiate warmth. However, Ekini's skin quickly became paler.

The ghost-fairy stared down into her own palms. "The Dragon-flame?" Ekini nodded weakly, before her head limply fell back. "Eki... Eki!" Alfea shook Ekini gently, but there was no response. The girl was gone. Ekini turned to ashes in her arms, and was blown away in the wind, leaving Alfea completely alone in the smouldering town.

* * *

**"Author's" Notes: **To be honest, some of the 2 month no update dry spell was me giving some consideration to switching this story to M and seeing what kind of atrocities I could come up with if I had the extra freedom. However, I found if I have too much freedom this will get reaaaally out there (some of the monsters and the things that they did to fleeing villagers got a bit too far, even for my tastes). I think I'll keep it rated T.

The other part of the 2 month hiatus has been me staring at this finished chapter, too nervous to post it. I miss the canon characters. :( The ancestral witches should be making an appearance soon though.


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